U.N. Owen
It always amazes me how anyone can - not only 'like' this, but 'love' it. Give it 9, or, 10 stars.I 'like' this movie - for it's awfulness, as do those people who get how wrong everything is, with this.When MAME came out, I got to see it (live through it, more accurately). At ROCERFELLER CENTER (they actually showed movies, then) with my mom.Even then - as a little kid, the horror before me was apparent.Ms. Ball was too old, and, had no singing ability (if she ever had one).There was a classic skit on SCTV: 'Count Floyd's HAVE YOURSELF A SXARY LITTLE Christmas, which featured the fabulous Catherine O'Hara as Luceille Ball, signing (croaking) a 'Christmas-ised' version of 'Mame.' The off-camera singers would do 90% of the singing, then, Luceille would chime in; 'Christmas,' sounding like a dying fog-horn.THAT is the best MAME Ms. Ball was in - NOT this.The story of how this mess got made is in the terrific book,'But, Darling, I'm Your Auntie MAME.'Angela Lansbury had starred in, and MADE this musical a classic. But, the studio wonks didn't think she'd have the 'drawing power' to sell movie tickets.Lucy - at the tail-end of her TV days, still had some pull, and, yanked it away from Ms. Lansbury.The ONLY (GREAT) casting, is the inimitable Bea Arthur, as Vera Charles, and, she was recreating her Broadway role.Yes, I love the awfulness of this, but, even then, I've the common sense NOT to give it SO MANY stars.
cats2011
Can I say firstly that I do admire he comic abilities of Bea Artur and Lucille Ball. There attempts at singing left me wanting to block my ears. I seen Lucille Ball in an early movie with the Marx Brothers and her voice wasn't always like that-excessive smoking did that too her. If only the pair could have listened to themselves properly but I'm told that self appraisal isn't sufficient enough , so they persisted with a box office turkey. Even today if this movie was redone with Sirley Maclaine and Cher, in the lead rolls and singing than maybe I might view the picture in another light because the musical numbers were not all that bad
TheLittleSongbird
Don't get me wrong, I love musicals, most of them I grew up on, and I always find myself singing a tune from one. However, Mame is a contender for the worst movie musical I've seen, and I have seen quite a lot of movie musicals, old and new, good and bad.Are there any redeeming qualities? Yes there are actually. They are the songs and score, which are excellent- I was particularly taken with We Need a Little Christmas and If He Walked into my Life, and the support playing of Jane Conell, the dashing Robert Preston and especially Bea Arthur, for me the only members of the cast who try to breathe life into the film.The main problem with Mame is the miscasting of Lucille Ball as Mame. She does try hard with the slapstick, but her singing was to be honest painful to the ears especially in It's Today and she was too old and too cold for the role. Madeline Kahn or Angela Lansbury would have been better in my personal opinion. Kirby Furlong doesn't work either, as others have said he turns Patrick into a wimp, while the film is really quite dated with some curiously garish close-ups. The film is also too long, and suffers further from a weak and predictable story, confused script, poor pacing, sluggish direction and very sketchy characterisation.So overall, as a fan of musicals this was a complete disappointment. 2/10 for the music and some of the supporting cast. Bethany Cox
kenjha
In this musicalized version of "Auntie Mame," an orphaned boy shows up at the door of his rich, eccentric aunt, leading to heart-warming and hilarious comedy...at least that was the intent, but the execution is mostly lame. There's little rhyme or reason to the plot, as it rambles on and on for much too long. In her final film appearance, Lucy gives it the old college try, but she is just too old for the title character. The characters are cartoony and the film looks very cheap, more like a TV movie than a theatrical release. Saks (Arthur's husband at the time), who usually worked with Neil Simon, does little to enliven the film.
AD
