Last night during Dancing With the Stars, the new trailer for Mamma Mia! premiered. The teaser trailer was pretty good, but the full-length one? My dancing shoes are already on!

The stage musical is ridiculous, but also ridiculously enjoyable, and it looks like the movie will fit that same groove. As if the ABBA soundtrack (22 songs!) weren't enough — and, really, what's better than ABBA? — we get Meryl Streep doing pratfalls in her overalls. That alone is worth the ticket price.

Meryl seems to be having a great time in general, what with all the dancing and drinking and screwball comedy. I can never decide which I like better: dramatic Meryl or comedic Meryl. Mamma Mia! might just give us both. She's funny, she's moving, she's handy around the house!

And I had forgotten that Christine Baranski is in Mamma Mia! She plays one of Meryl's BFFs. … continue reading

UPDATED POST: This post was first published on Friday. But there's new news. Read on!

Last week, the rumor mill had Sarah Jessica Parker starring as one of the fiancées in the madcap comedy Boeing-Boeing — she was to play the Italian air hostess. Given that she has some solid Broadway history and even more interesting Off-Broadway history, that could have been fun casting. However, it seems the rumor mill was not correct this time. Alas. The latest casting news is not exactly depressing, though — Gina Gershon will be the Italian assistente di bordo.

You may know her better as Corky.

Gershon doesn't have a lot of Broadway history — just a stint as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. But apparently she was good. I almost wish Boeing-Boeing was a musical so I could see her sing live. (Although I suspect it would be different than this Prey for Rock 'n' Roll excerpt.)

The other actress recently cast in Boeing-Boeing is Mary McCormack (West Wing, K Street), as the German flight attendant. … continue reading

Ah, the chick flick. Much maligned. Often contrived. And, every now and then, downright satisfying. To be perfectly honest, I like a good chick flick — emphasis on good, of course. For me, the appeal is built right into the name. Chick: Well, I am one, and I like them. Flick: Well, movies; who doesn’t love movies? Two upcoming releases seek to find just the right chocolate-and-peanut-butter formula that results in the good kind of chick flick we all love to watch on lazy Sunday afternoons when we should be paying bills or regrouting the tub.

Both also fall into what is usually my favorite of the chick flick subgenres: the female bonding movie. Sure, romantic comedies are the more popular subgenre, but you just get more estrogen for your buck with bonding pictures. The films are Bonneville (opening Feb. 29 limited and March 21 wide) and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (opening Aug. 8).

Bonneville, which stars 50-somethings Jessica Lange, Joan Allen, Kathy Bates and Christine Baranski, centers on a cross-country road trip taken by three friends when one of their husbands dies. The trip is done in — you guessed it — a big old convertible Pontiac Bonneville.

Is anyone else getting a decidedly Thelma & Louise feel from that photo? I just hope it doesn’t end the same way. Though, from the trailer, it looks like the ladies have their automotive high jinks in the Utah salt flats, not the Grand Canyon. … continue reading