Mamma Mia! (2008)

 

Mamma Mia! - 2008

Coming up next we have 2008's hit movie musical "Mamma Mia!", the story of a girl who is trying to find out who her father is by inviting three possibilities to her wedding.  Her mother is in for a surprise as she doesn't know the three could-be dads are invited.  Mamma Mia!

The film's cast includes Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, and Ashley Lilley.

Sophie is getting married.  She wants her father to be there.  The trouble is: she doesn't know who he is.  More trouble abounds: there are three possibilities.  So, without her mother's knowledge, she mails each of the men an invitation.

The first possibility is Bill, a Swedish adventurer/explorer with many books to his credit.

Also in the running is Sam, an American architect, who has never gotten over his love for Sophie's mother, Donna.

And then there's Harry, a British businessman who has only ever loved one woman: Donna.  So, with their invitations in hand, all three men head to a remote island in Greece (where Donna and Sophie live) to attend the wedding.

Donna is busy with wedding preparations, and she is thrilled to be supported by her best friends, Tanya and Rosie.  In previous years, the trio formed a singing group called Donna and the Dynamos.

Donna runs a little inn on the island, and she is constantly beset by things going wrong.  She dreams of "Money, Money, Money".

And when Donna finds out that her three past boyfriends are on the island, "Mamma Mia!"

Of course, their unexpected arrival makes Donna a bit nervous, as she has some unresolved feelings for a least one of them.

Donna takes time to hang out with her girlfriends, decompress, and just be the "Dancing Queen".

With all of this going on, Sophie spends time with Sky to make sure their wedding plans aren't being derailed.  The two duet with "Lay All Your Love On Me".

The night before the wedding, Donna, Tanya, and Rosie bring back Donna and the Dynamos and present "Super Trouper" to Sophie as a wedding gift.

The day of the wedding dawns.  However, Sophie isn't the bride.  It's Donna.  I'll let you watch the movie to find out which of the three gents she gets married to.

Cast rundown:

   Meryl Streep..................................Donna Sheridan

   Amanda Seyfried............................Sophie Sheridan

   Pierce Brosnan...............................Sam Carmichael

   Colin Firth......................................Harry Bright

   Stellan Skarsgaard..........................Bill Anderson

   Dominic Cooper...............................Sky

   Christine Baranski...........................Tanya

   Julie Walters...................................Rosie Mulligan

   Ashley Lilley....................................Ali

   Juan Pablo Di Pace...........................Petros

And that's it for Mamma Mia!.  There are so many more great songs that were in the film that I didn't include here.  Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed on the Greek islands of Skopelos.  However, Donna's inn was built on a soundstage in London, and most of the film was shot there.  This movie became one of the highest grossing films of 2008, and spawned a sequel, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again", in 2018.

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Spaceballs (1987)

 

Spaceballs - 1987

Coming up next, we have 1987's "Spaceballs", a spoof on a bunch of galactic-themed movies, most specifically "Star Wars".

The film's cast includes Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, Joan Rivers, George Wyner, Stephen Tobolowsky, John Hurt, Brenda Strong, and Dom DeLuise.

Well, once upon a time warp, President Skroob of the Planet Spaceball is fast losing his planet's air supply.  So, he's decided to steal some.  The planet he has chosen is Druidia.

President Skroob enlists the help of Dark Helmet, a villain with a very large helmet and a very, very large ship (cue evil music and oxygenated breathing sounds here...oh, and I love the necktie, by the way).

At the end of his long walk, Dark Helmet tears open his mask and screams, "I can't breath in this thing!"  The plan is for Dark Helmet to go to Planet Druidia, kidnap Princess Vespa, and demand the planet's air supply as a ransom.

They arrive at Planet Druidia, where Princess Vespa is scheduled to be married.  However, she has no plans to get hitched.

Before the Spaceballs can kidnap the Princess, she and droid-of-honor Dot Matrix run away from the wedding and blast off into the galaxy.  They are pursued by the Spaceballs and shots are fired from blasters.  "What's going on?" asks the Princess.  "It's either the Fourth of July or someone's trying to kill us!" exclaims Dot Matrix.

Flying through space at the same time as Princess Vespa and Dot Matrix are hero for hire Lone Starr and his co-pilot Barf, a half human/half dog mix.

They are currently being pursued by notorious gangster Pizza the Hutt.  Lone Starr owes Pizza a lot of money.

Lone Starr and Barf are hired by the princess's father, King Roland, to bring her back to Druidia.  The princess is very upset about the arrangement.

They end up crash landing on a desert planet, a situation which eventually involves Dot Matrix wheezing for an oilcan.

Hard on their heels is Dark Helmet, who is literally combing the desert for clues to their whereabouts.

However, they will be hard-pressed to find them.  The gang has found themselves in an weird looking underground cavern.  "What is this place?" asks Princess Vespa.  "It looks like the Temple of Doom," remarks Barf.  "Well, it sure ain't Temple Beth Israel," muses Dot Matrix.

It's actually the home of a very-wise being named Yogurt, who teaches Lone Star about a power called "the Schwartz" and how to control it.

Eventually, Lone Star must battle Dark Helmet using "the Schwartz".  And I love their verbal interaction.

Dark Helmet: Before you die, there is something you should know about us, Lone 

    Starr.

Lone Starr: What?

Dark Helmet: I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.

Lone Starr: What's that make us?

Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing!  Which is what you are about to become.

Well, you can probably guess that everything turns out alright in the end.  President Skroob and Dark Helmet are defeated.  Lone Starr and Princess Vespa fall in love and get married.  And all is right with the universe.

Cast rundown:

   Mel Brooks...............................President Skroob/Yogurt

   Rick Moranis.............................Dark Helmet

   Bill Pullman..............................Lone Starr

   John Candy..............................Barf

   Daphne Zuniga.........................Princess Vespa

   Dick Van Patten........................King Roland

   Joan Rivers..............................Dot Matrix

   George Wyner...........................Colonel Sandurz

   Stephen Tobolowsky..................Captain of the Guard

   John Hurt................................Himself

   Brenda Strong..........................Nurse

   Dom DeLuise............................Pizza The Hutt

And that's it for Spaceballs.  Creator Mel Brooks worked alongside George Lucas for the post-production.  Lucas later sent Brooks a note saying how much he enjoyed the film and the he was afraid he might bust something from laughing so much.

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