Mame (1974)

Undescribable Perfection

Simply Perfect

People are voting emotionally.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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

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.

I am sorry to say I fall on the side of the dissenters here - "Mame" is a flop of mammoth proportions. Lucille Ball prances and croaks her way through the role of the big hearted eccentric Mame, who's softer side shows itself when an orphaned nephew comes to stay. The story is slight and it's punctuated with a seemingly endless parade of dreadful musical numbers...right from the very opening when the credits are accompanied by a terrible warbled ditty about arriving in Manhatten (sung by Jane Connell), it's clear that things are not going to be good. Lucille Ball is no singer either, but she keeps trying all the way through, until you are so beaten over the head with bad music it all starts to wash over you.There are a few gems of fun in the otherwise painful 2 hours - first of all Bea Arthur as Vera Charles steals every scene she is in: "Someone's been sleeping in my dress..." And Lucille Ball still had some of her magic - out of the entire 2 hours plus running time I had just one real laugh watching her face as she politely choked down a nasty tasting snack at the home of her potential in-laws - it reminded me how she used to be such a star of physical comedy.Apart from this though, there is very little to enjoy here. The first half of the film demands that you feel the family love between Mame and her 9 year old ward, but this is sadly impossible due to the wretched performance turned in by the actor playing the young child, and to make matters worse he gets a solo in a song that seemingly has no tune ("My Best Girl"), which I actually had to cover my ears for! The only song that's any fun at all is "Bosom Buddies", but again that's largely due to Bea Arthur again. All the songs that Lucille Ball sings are ruined, especially near the end where she sings the song off screen ("If He Walked Into My Life") at the same time as we watch her wandering about her empty house trying to look pained in the film's supposed emotional highlight...it just doesn't work at all.Sorry folks, but this Mame is just...lame

"You're invited to party hearty - and in fabulous style - with this lavish 1974 screen version of the beloved Broadway musical. Lucille Ball brings star sparkle to the title role, a high-living grande dame who's outlandishly eccentric and, when suddenly faced with raising an orphaned nephew, fiercely loving. Veterans of the New York stage original join her: Beatrice Arthur as best friend 'Vera', Jane Connell as prim governess 'Agnes', choreographer Onna White, and director Gene Saks. As Mame's husband 'Beauregard', Robert Preston sings 'Loving You', written specially for the film. Jerry Herman's songs, from 'It's Today' to 'We Need a Little Christmas' to 'If He Walked Into My Life', rank among the best show tunes ever. For a grand time, bring home 'Mame'," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Let's try to be kind, since Lucy's "Mame" is all too obvious in its faults. After about an hour - if you can stay tuned (if not, fast forward to the coach arrival of Ms. Ball and Mr. Preston at his southern plantation), the film gets better. Ball hilariously meets Preston's family while impersonating "Scarlet O'Hara", goes fox-trotting on the horse "Lightning Rod", and participates in the film's best musical production number. The choreography and performance of the title song "Mame" is breezy and breathtaking; and, it serves as a sweet tribute to Ball, in her last feature film. These mid-movie sequences give the film a lift, and the next hour of the film is more enjoyable than the first. Still, there's no getting around the fact that the miscasting of Ball in the title role was a fatal flaw. Now, with Mae West as "Vera" and Desi Arnaz as "Beauregard", it might have worked… **** Mame (3/7/74) Gene Saks ~ Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, Robert Preston