Customer Reviews
Mame-a-lishous 
2008-09-22
Thanks very much, watched "Mame" the other night, brought back great memories. So camp, love it. Andrew.xx
It's grrrrreat! 2008-09-19
I loved this movie and I was thrilled to get it. It was in perfect condition and arrived before the estimated delivery date! Thanks!
Misses the mark in a very large way... 
2008-09-05
Lucille Ball made a career out of playing talentless housewife Lucy to the talented Ricky Ricardo on `I Love Lucy'; a television series that seriously is one of the best of all time. Making her character lovable and impressionable took a great deal of talent. `I Love Lucy' proved that Lucille Ball was a spitfire, a comedic genius and it catapulted her into the hall of fame as one of the greatest of all television icons.
Until last night I had never seen Lucille in a film.
Sadly, my first experience with Lucy on the big screen was her last effort, `Mame', a film that is hit or miss all over the place with sadly more misses than any serious hits. Lucille Ball is a comedic hit, but a musical was not the right route for her to take. Now, I have not seen the Broadway play from which this spawns, but I can only imagine that the lead actress was required to sing, and sing well. Lucy cannot sing well.
`Mame' tells the story of young Patrick Dennis who goes to live with his eccentric Aunt after his father dies. Mame is not really a responsible parent, but she loves Patrick and her unconditional love outweighs her lack of parenting skills.
The film is somewhat clichéd, and it feels very tired in many parts. The musical numbers feel unrehearsed and out of tune and just all over the place. Not only is Ball a terrible singer, but so is Kirby Furlong, who plays young Dennis. In fact, the only saving grace here is Beatrice Arthur who delivers brilliantly as Vera Charles, Mame's boozy best friend. She's not only funny, but she can sing and dance and perform her hide off.
As a comedian, Ball sells her scenes. It's sad that she allowed herself to take this role knowing that she was not right for it, for the film just accentuates the areas in which Ball lacked talent instead of embellishing the areas in which she shined. I can't recommend the film for it feels incomplete, choppy and unnecessary. Aside from Arthur there is nothing noteworthy about the film (aside from a few funny, non-musical related scenes).
Mame 
2008-08-26
I thought the movie lived up to my expectation's, and was good to see
these and other movie's coming out on dvd. However i am dissapointed
that the studio's that put these classic's out do not make the effort to
remaster the audio, when older movie's have been remasterd in 5.1 surround.
mame 2008-07-08
this has always been one of my favourite musicals. i wanted to purchase it on dvd for sometime but has only recently been released, or that it is only available in the usa and not in the uk.it is always a delight to watch the film and hope a stage version comes along also.
The last great big old fashion musical made 2008-06-24
Lucille Ball plays Auntie mame loving life and living it to the hilt with her nephew and assorted eccentrics in tow. Robert Preston Beatrice Arthur and Jerry Herman's smashing Broadway score add pizazz. Year: 1974 Director: Gene Saks Starring: Lucille Ball. Robert Preston Bea ArthurRunning Time: 131 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: PG UPC: 085391134145 Manufacturer No: 113414
Surprisingly Valid 
2008-06-02
I can relate to the people who hate this film; I felt the same way when it came out. But on second glance, it's really not as bad as all that. Yes, any number of movie stars (particularly Lansbury) would have made a better Mame. Lucy is far older than the role requires, and she truly can't sing. But call it The "Chicago" Syndrome: Having suffered through Renee Zellwegger and Helena Bonham Carter's singing over the past few years, I somehow don't mind Lucy as much. (And let's not forget that Rosiland Russell, first choice for the musical version, was no singer either.) Lucy can certainly dance (that's how she started her career), she's damned funny (this is Lucy, after all), and she's giving it 200% and seems to be having a blast -- so as a complete performance, it's surprisingly valid. The costumes and art direction are gorgeous, and Jerry Herman's arrangements of his lovely score are really splendid; and the supporting cast is first-rate across the boards. One wishes that Gene Saks were a more imaginative director, but his work is perfectly serviceable. So while this is one of those movie musicals that might have been fantastic with a more glamorous leading lady, it's hardly the out-and-out disaster that I remembered and expected to see again. "The Wiz" or "A Chorus Line" -- now those are disasters.
I LOVE LUCY, TOO, BUT REALLY . . . 2008-04-30
First off, the negative reviews based on a dislike of the stage musical in general are off the mark. The musical is a thing of its own, and shouldn't be expected to equal the incomparable Rosalind Russell non-musical version. I doubt that many musicals based on movies or plays are as good as the originals--look how terrible a musical ("Applause") was concocted from the brilliant "All About Eve." If you don't like Broadway musicals, that's a matter of personal taste. That said, however, I must concur that this movie really blows. I remember being appalled when it first came out, when I was at the height of my Lucille Ball mania. It was--and is--simply uncomfortable to watch. If somehow they could have put Miss Ball in a time machine and taken her back to her 40s, when she was at her height in "I Love Lucy," it would have been great. The sets and costumes and jaw-dropping Art Deco, and the supporting cast is fine in its overly stagey way. But poor Lucy--one critic said she is so out of focus that it looks as though she was filmed through canvas, not gauze; and I believe it was Pauline Kael who said it sounds as if her singing had been dubbed by Dick Cavett. There was talk a while back about a TV remake with Barbra Streisand as Mame and Cher as Vera--now THERE would have been something to see. But this version is simply sad, and an unfortunate footnote to Lucille Ball's career.
A Very Feel-Good Movie! 2008-04-22
A producer once said of Lucille Ball, "She can't sing and she can't dance but she can ACT like she can sing and dance." This movie proves it. While here dancing scenes were not Ginger Rogers level, they are still enjoyable and Lucille Ball is always watchable, regardless of what she's doing! The movie itself was pretty close to the book it was based on, the songs and dances taken from the Broadway play. All in all, a great movie to watch!
Lucille Ball MAME 2008-04-10
This is a good version of the musical MAME. I really enjoyed watching it. As compared to the Rosalind Russel version there are a few more scenes in this one, and I think the contumes don't stay true to period. But all in all it a wonderful movie.
