"Mamma Mia!"
By LeeAnn Sharpe
"Mamma Mia!" is great fun! The audience sang along, clapped, giggled and ahhhed as the songs ran the gamut of emotions. Mamma Mia flies on the wings of the golden oldies of ABBA and the crazy musical romps where the entire cast joins in wonderfully joyful choreographed dance routines. Every minute of this flick will refresh your spirit with beautiful views of the Greek island and blues of the ocean, along with classic music.
Meryl Streep is so well loved that even though this musical part of this role may have been a stretch for her, she made it work. Her voice actually sounded good. But Pierce Brosnan, who played her old flame Sam, should stick to acting. His voice was like the guy at the office singing karaoke and everyone tries to ignore the pain of it all. Still he is well cast as the great love of her life. Colin Firth who actually learned to play guitar for this role and took some singing lessons sounded pretty decent. Not that he will have a new music career, but he can carry a tune. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski took their comedic acting skills to a new level with their over the top musical performances. Stellan Skarsgård as Bill, one of three possible fathers of Donna’s daughter, had the audience rooting for him all the way.
ABBA, the Swedish pop act who has sold more than 400 million records to date and continues to sell well, has created timeless universally popular music. There is a strong camp appeal to the music that’s reminiscent of a kinder, gentler place in time. So it’s no surprise when the audience sings along and actually knows all of the words. Those who don’t sing along are looking superior, above all that, but they are still smiling behind the sneers. A magic in the music places a spell on all who hear it, a fan or not.
The story goes twenty-year-old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), raised in Greece, invites three men to her wedding, one of whom she is sure must be her father. As the wedding guests arrive the bride-to-be with her two best girlfriends and her Mom and her two girlfriends vamp down memory lane with various musical numbers. Then the three would-be dads meet and bond and sing and try to figure out why they've been summoned to sunny Greece, where each enjoyed a lovely tryst with Donna years ago .
"Mamma Mia" will be your "Waterloo," as you enjoy a musical film like no other. "Super Trouper", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Thank You for the Music", "Money, Money, Money", "The Winner Takes It All", "Voulez Vous", "I Have a Dream" and "SOS". It’s pure feel good fun from beginning to end. So let yourself go and enjoy! Warning you will have ABBA in your head for weeks to come!
MAMMA MIA! is a Universal Pictures release directed by Phyllida Lloyd from a script by Catherine Johnson. Running time: 108 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
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