Mamma Mia!

I did enjoy this romp in the Greek Islands and was surprised at how well Meryl Streep sang. It's light, full of froth and bubble and perhaps has some aspects of Grease and Bollywood in it. The reason the music works I feel is that they haven't really messed with the arrangements of the songs keeping them generally faithful to the Abba originals. But Pierce Brosnan's vocal efforts were abysmal, almost laughable. Perhaps it was meant to be a send up of the original songs all the way through but he really did manage to mangle the vocals in my opinion. If you have seen the musical on stage you will know what to expect and there are some funny moments in the film and the Greek islands are as always a superb backdrop for the action.

Went to see Mamma Mia without particularly high expectations. Not being a big connoisseur (or even fan) of musicals, I didn't really know what to expect. Though I adore ABBA, I never bothered to watch the stage production of Mamma Mia. But having a cinema membership, I didn't have much to lose (no money, at least), so I went for it. And boy, am I glad that I did! I can safely say that I enjoyed every second of it. And I'm not even ashamed to admit it!

Give Meryl Streep another Oscar and get it over with already. If she could get a nod for the Devil Wears Prada, she definitely deserves one for this. She really let her hair down on this one. Mrs. Streep can obviously not pass for a trained singer, but somehow, it just doesn't seem to matter. It just really worked in the movie (unlike -say- Helena Bonham Carter's singing in Sweeney Todd). When I heard Meryl's rendition of "The winner takes it all" in advance, it lowered my expectations considerably, but in its context, it totally made sense.

Most of all though, this movie was just sheer fun. People were clapping, laughing...Rarely have I seen an audience as enthusiastic. The crowd especially responded well to Meryl and her two cronies (arguably the strongholds of the movie). Also, because I had never seen the musical before, I was amazed (and amused) at the inventive ways in which they managed to incorporate so many ABBA-songs. Equally brilliant was the way the extras (usually some Greek old women) were deployed throughout the movie...And then of course the setting (beautiful Greece) was mesmerizing...

Basically, Mamma Mia is a superb musical that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you're just a little bit crazy and want to have a good laugh, if you love ABBA, want to see Meryl Streep like you've never seen her before or if you simply have a secret crush on Colin Firth and/or Pierce Brosnan (his singing was nothing short of hilarious), you will LOVE this movie. Best summer flick so far. Warmly recommended.

That kind of film who is so easy to define as superficial. Before you see it. Because it is only ... charming. Surprising charming. For musical scenes. For the feel of summer holliday. For impressive cast and beautiful performances. For locations. And, off course, for...ABBA. The best point - the feeling to see an old fashion comedy. And that is the serious motif. For see it. Time by time.

With this big opening weekend either you're going to see the darker film The Dark Knight or you are going to see something more light hearted like Mamma Mia! Now I work at a movie theater, a lot of people were just assuming that everyone was going to see The Dark Knight, yesterday someone came up disappointed saying "my show sold out"... I looked at her with a smiling face and said "oh, yeah, dark knight, I know"... she said "no, mamma mia", I looked up all surprised, Mamma Mia sold out as well, people were really looking forward to this movie as well. I did see this movie on Saturday and really enjoyed it, as cheesy as it was, I do enjoy musicals, I think the only thing is that this this is the happiest musical that I have ever seen. So it was nice to just sit there and be happy with these characters and you can't help but laugh at the predicaments that they get themselves into.

Sophie is a young woman who is about to tie the knot with her loving and adventurous fiancée, Sky, her life is great. She has a very loving mother, Donna, who is running a broke down hotel in Greece and used to be in a girl group called The Donna's. Sophie has one problem, she has never met her dad, she finds her mom's diary and discovers that she has three potential fathers. She invites them all to the wedding putting her mom's name on the invitation. So the three men: Sam, Harry, and Bill come to see her and Sophie is caught in a situation where she doesn't know who's her real dad, but they end up having the time of their lives and enjoying life together.

Mamma Mia is the light hearted comedy that I'm sure any musical lover could enjoy. I loved how well paced it was and how the cast looked like they had the ultimate time making this film, that's what made it so much fun. This film also brings a lot of fun energy into you and just keeps you smiling. The songs were very catchy, which I know this musical was based on the songs of Abba, so we have that good old 70's groove going on. I would recommend Mamma Mia, if you're looking to smile, laugh, and dance, I'm sure you'll love to see Mamma Mia. It's a sweet film with the cheesy plot that is so much fun to laugh at, plus it has men in speedo's who are dancing like crazy, where can you go wrong with that? OK, you can, but it's all good.

8/10

As a musical, pure and simple, 'Mamma Mia' has the briefest and silliest of stories, backed up by a large selection of Abba songs (Super Trouper, SOS, Voulez Vous, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Money Money Money, Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, Lay All Your Love On Me, Our Last Summer, Mamma Mia, etc.).

Meryl Streep has a daughter about to marry, and a cloudy past which has left three possible dads - Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth), and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard). Now you can imagine that when Brosnan was James Bond he never thought he'd be cavorting along to Swedish pop on the big screen - but despite his weak voice, he does OK - the same can be said for Firth, who seems to choose roles with such little discrimination it is no longer a surprise to see him in anything.

Donna (Streep) also has two friends to support her - Julie Walters and Christine Baranski. Walters is as fun as ever, cavorting in her headscarf and singing appallingly; while Baranski is another Samantha from Sex and the City - chasing young barmen and struggling in her high heeled boots. Their scenes together and apart are hilarious - and Streep's singing cannot be faulted.

Is the film any good? It is hard to tell. It is certainly fun, and funny. The direction isn't particularly inspired, nor is the screenplay clever or profound - but then, neither is the music of Abba. Taken purely as bubblegum, feel-good cinema, it does OK, and isn't as bad as you might have expected.