1. Mame - dreadful, largely due to the pacing and unfortunately Ms. Ball. It felt like a big lead balloon.
2. Lost Horizon - okay this is a big "guilty pleasure" of mine. I saw this first in a movie theatre when I was ten years old and it made a HUGE impression on me. As a 10-year-old, I wasn't familiar with the plot at all, and I was smitten by it. I do know how cheezy it is with the Burt Bacharach songs, and the dramatic stars, most of whom act like they've never seen a musical, let alone been in one. But I have to say that some of it still works pretty well (if you can get through all the cheezy stuff). I just tend to laugh it off now, affectionately, rather than be repelled by it. But, again, I have that "nostalgia factor" working on me. But if you're seeing it for the first time, it could either be hysterically bad but fun... or just painful. This falls into the "Bad Movies We Love" category for me.
3. A Matter of Time. Haven't seen it.
4. Annie - dreadful. It was such a disappointment after the stage show. It's over-stuffed with celebrities and it feels strangely claustrophobic for something so huge. The little girl lead was too plastic, like a wind-up toy. You could almost see the key in her back. The Disney TV version directed by Rob Marshall was a vast improvement in all respects.
5. Best Little Whorehouse -- I enjoyed it quite a bit... until I was in a production of it a few years later with members of the original cast. I got to see and experience what that show could really be like, and then the movie seemed to pale in comparison. It has its moments, but never rises to the impact or level of the play.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
