The Dark Knight left me adrenalized, stunned, in awe of Heath Ledger's craft and Christopher Nolan's eye. As the credits rolled, I felt a strong desire to head to the Los Angeles Gun Club and spend the afternoon slaying (paper) bad guys with a Glock. Mamma Mia!, by contrast, made me want to kidnap Dominic Cooper and book a ticket to Santorini. I don't think I've ever experienced such diametrically opposed emotions in such a brief filmgoing period, unless you count that time I watched a double feature of Capturing the Friedmans and Meatballs. Total mindfreak!

And yet, The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! are alike in strange ways. Both have unsettling moments: The former involves Aaron Eckhart's bulging eyeball, while Mamma's most disturbing scene features Pierce Brosnan singing ''S.O.S.'' Both movies have a scene-stealing character in heavy, garish makeup. (Where's Christine Baranski's Oscar buzz?) Both movies have sequences that could best be described as ''flaming.'' In a way, you could even say the films are companion pieces. Opposite sides of the same coin, to employ a visual aid from Harvey Dent.

Most importantly, both films are successful in that they're totally immersive. The respective crowds were riveted for the entire running time; I didn't see a single audience member bolting for the snack bar or bathed in the telltale glow of a silenced BlackBerry. No one wanted to miss a single rousing production number or emotionally charged Joker moment. Even my long-suffering date enjoyed both movies (though he seemed to vastly prefer one over the other, and I bet you can guess which one that was). Perhaps we should all make a point of defying demographic projections once in a while and checking out that movie we're not expected to see. Hey, if Pierce Brosnan can make the jump from Bond to ABBA, we can all stand to be more open-minded.

Originally posted Aug 09, 2008 Published in issue #999-1000 Jun 27, 2008 Order article reprints
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