Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!
July 18, 2008
Universal etc.
Musical, Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This at times feels like a throwback to, no, not ABBA's glory days in the '70s, but rather the early '80s, when the cheesy, nonsensical musical sub-genre reached some sort of pinnacle, or depth, with Grease 2 and Pirate Movie.  In fact, watching this in the theater the first time (I went twice), the flipper-ballet on the jetty felt like a Pirate Movie out-take.  And yet, even when Pierce Brosnan is proving himself the worst singing James Bond since Timothy Dalton in Sextette, the movie has more heart than most modern movies.  Much of this is due to star Meryl Streep, who of course out-acts everyone but nearly out-sings everyone, with the notable exception of Amanda Seyfried as her daughter Sophie.  Seyfried has an incredible voice that Mean Girls gave no hint of.  In a plot with an incredibly fuzzy timeline (I think it's set in '97, but this is debatable), twenty-year-old Sophie wants to finally meet her father, and so she invites the three most likely candidates to her wedding:  Brosnan, Colin Firth (very sweet as the now gay one), and Stellan Skarsgård,  Meanwhile, other guests arrive, including Streep's best friends, one played by a surprisingly slapsticky Julie Walters.  Not every moment in the movie works, but the ABBA covers are great and I can't think of a weak one in the bunch.  Also, the Greek scenery is gorgeous.

Norma Atallah was Debra in Yentl and is Irini here.  Kirsty Mather, who's a Hen here, would be John's Boat Girl in Pirate Radio.

Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting
January 9, 1998
Miramax
Drama, Comedy, Romance
VHS
B

This is generally well-written and well-acted by real-life best friends Matt Damon (as the title character) and Ben Affleck (as Chuckie Sullivan).  They are ably supported by Minnie Driver as love interest Skylar, Ben's brother Casey as Morgan O'Mally (providing much of the comic relief), Stellan Skarsgård as Prof. Gerald Lambeau, and of course Robin Williams as Sean Maguire, the tough but kind therapist.  This film got much acclaim (including awards) on first release and it holds up well.  But there's just something missing that keeps it from crossing over into greatness.  Maybe it's the way that the therapy is presented as an act of both friendship and rescue.  Maybe it's that we're never actually shown the reunion between Will and Skylar.  Or maybe it's that awful title.  No, really, even at the time, I thought it was dumb, like it's about the hunt for goodwill, or Goodwill.  And do we need to be told that Will is good?  I guess if it was just Will Hunting, we'd think it was about an inheritance.

Daniel Olsen was a Wounded Soldier in Little Women and is an MIT Student here.  Steven Kozlowski is Carmine Friend #1 here and would be Lump in Holes.

Two guys from Southie