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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Arabic
  Extras

    Mad About Mambo

    Universal/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 89 mins . M . PAL

      Feature
    Contract

    Ever wanted to know what’s wrong with Hollywood at the moment? Here’s a prime example. Back in 1998, a first-time director named John Forte (who had previously written for the TV series Ballykissangel) set about making a movie called Perfect Timing. With renowned actor Gabriel Byrne as an executive producer, the money to make the film started to come in - from no less than six disparate studios and production companies. And with that money, it would seem, came commercial pressure. The all-Irish cast was supplemented by a Californian lead actress, in the form of Keri Russell (who at the time was enjoying the success of the first season of TV’s Felicity, in which she plays the title role). And the title was changed. To the impossibly, incredibly goofy Mad About Mambo, presumably because Latin American music is huge in the US and therefore should be applied as a marketing strategy to the entire globe, regardless of relevance. This is, of course, proof that Hollywood is a silly place.

    Why? Because Mad About Mambo has very little to do with “mambo”, despite the inclusion of cover versions of Ricky Martin’s hit Maria and the Spice Girls’ Spice Up Your Life, both Latin-flavoured songs slowed down substantially for these cover versions. No, this humble little film - very much in the style of affectionate romantic comedies like Gregory’s Girl - is actually about... soccer! Young and awkward Danny Mitchell lives for his dream of playing soccer in his idea of the big leagues - the rather unglamorous Belfast United club. When he hears that a well-regarded Brazilian import has been recruited into that team, he decides that the one thing his game is missing is that special kind of soccer footwork that comes from knowing Latin American dance moves and having “the rhythm”. The logical step? To take dance lessons!

    Danny finds a dance instruction studio and soon runs into Lucy McLoughlin, a feisty and talented dancer with a posh boyfriend and a very dubious Irish accent that appears to have been learnt from endless screenings of The Commitments and a night out with Tim Curry. A momentous occasion indeed, it’s many things at first sight - among them passion, mambo, lurve, fear, determination and embarrassment. Such is the way, y’see, of quirky Irish love seen through the eyes of a lens hired from Panavision. To be sure. To be sure.

    Will Danny learn to dance Latin-American-like? Will he get the girl? Will he find out what his dream really is? Duh.

    They don’t come much more predictable than Mad About Mambo, and anyone who’s ever seen a romantic comedy of any variety will be calling the shots well in advance of what happens on the screen. Now of course, romantic comedies are meant to be predictable - audiences want to see the guy get the girl or vice versa, and they want to see it happen after a bit of courtship, a bit of rivalry and a moment or two of hopeless despair. Mad About Mambo happily delivers on all counts, but unlike the best of this genre, it makes no attempt to put a fresh slant on the age-old story within. And no, the soccer/mambo combination does not count as that “fresh slant”.

    The cast are perfectly fine, and despite Russell’s accent problems she’s sufficiently pleasing as Lucy; William Ash is much more convincing (and much more Irish) as Danny, while a talented team of supporting actors sleepwalk their way through their parts.

    The movie’s Big Climactic Scene at the end - and we doubt we’re giving anything away that you didn’t already know by letting on that it’s a big showcase dance sequence - is terrible, and very, very flat. While undone by the impossibly close-up camerawork and the ridiculous assumption that two amateur ballroom dancers would provide satisfying half-time entertainment for a Belfast soccer crowd - you’ll be waiting expectantly for the violent pitch invasion, but you’ll be disappointed - the biggest error is simply that the first thing the pair dance to happens to be a saccharine American power ballad that’s about as Latin American and mambo-friendly as Celine Dion covering the soundtrack to St Elmo’s Fire. Things do arc up a little bit for the second half of this Starsearch-calibre “production number”, but ultimately it’s one of the most low-key “big endings” you’ll ever see. And it’s then that the truth becomes obvious. Lower-class working boy meets upper-class posh girl. They are seen to wear bad spandex outfits with glitter and fake tans. They compete with numbers on their backs. Why, it’s Strictly Ballroom, Belfast Latin styleee!

    Fear not, though - if you like harmless fluff that doesn’t tax the brain, romantic stories where lurve saves the day, or even if you just want to see Felicity with Big Hair intact testing the swimsuit usefulness of expensive lace underwear (no, don’t ask) then Mad About Mambo may very well be your perfect harmless night’s entertainment. The constant references to Ireland’s Troubles that are sprinkled throughout the script, though, hint at a story that could have been infinitely more interesting and dramatic, given the chance.

      Video
    Contract

    There’s very little to complain about with the video quality on this WAMO-authored disc, with the very vibrant and rich film transfer just about perfectly rendered on DVD. Aside from the all-too-common quality drop during the opening titles - often seen where opticals are involved - this is a top-notch transfer and compression job. Some minor aliasing on occasion won’t be a problem for this film’s intended audience, and shouldn’t even bother those with high-end systems.

    The film is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is 16:9 enhanced; note that the end-credit logo stating that Mad About Mambo was “filmed in Panavision” is a mistake.

      Audio
    Contract

    Once again, nothing to complain about here, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track offering a clear, perfectly legible mix of dialogue and music without ever being tempted to go over the top. While an unremarkable sound mix, it serves the film well enough, especially given the small-time aspirations of the dance numbers.

      Extras
    Contract

    There are no extra features at all on this disc, unless you consider the Macrovision trailer to be one (“quality protection”? Err, yeah, whatever!)

      Overall  
    Contract

    Perfectly harmless and unchallengingly entertaining - but thoroughly predictable and derivative - Mad About Mambo is a little film thrust into a big world, where it simply doesn’t belong. While it would have been a far more appealing prospect with a tenth of the budget and without the interference of Hollywood, this nominee for Silliest Title Of The Year delivers appealing, if flawed, performances in a flawed - but perversely appealing - bit of cinematic cotton candy. The fact that this reviewer initially misread the cover’s tag line as “Fall in love… with the beast” (it’s actually “beat”) may give you some idea of the blind optimism necessary when approaching this one. As almost always, Universal’s DVD is of high quality, though the complete lack of extras - not even a trailer - is surprising and disappointing.


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      And I quote...
    "Will Danny learn to dance Latin-American-like? Will he get the girl? Will he find out what his dream really is? Duh."
    - Anthony Horan
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Rom:
          Pioneer 103(s)
    • MPEG Card:
          Creative Encore DXR2
    • TV:
          Panasonic - The One
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-AV1020
    • Speakers:
          Klipsch Tangent 500
    • Surrounds:
          Jamo
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Monster s-video
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