Mamma Mia! (2008) Reviews

• Surprisingly good

  sofie-172008-07-05

  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.

• Utterly joyous

  neil-4762008-07-10

  I like, but don't love, musicals - my DVD shelves contain a selection, but the stuff there is pretty obvious: Singing in the Rain, King and I, Wizard of Oz, Moulin Rouge etc.. I'm not a Meryl Streep fan - I admire her craft, but mostly haven't liked the parts she's played. Conversely, I've always liked Abba's music. So that's my starting point when considering this movie which I have just been to see with my 80-year old mother. The story is a piece of fluff. Sophie, who lives with her mother in a dilapidated hotel on an idyllic Greek island, wants nothing more than for her father to be at her forthcoming wedding. The trouble is her father could be any one of three men with whom her mother dot dot dotted twenty years ago. So Sophie invites all three of them to her wedding and, as expected, complications ensue. The story, such as it is, is quite strong enough to enable the songs to be hooked onto it. And the songs, with one or two obvious exceptions (Money Money Money cued by the rundown state of the hotel) are very cannily worked into the story so that each one is relevant. The film looks great. The Greek locations overflow with sun and primary colours. The script is mostly fairly deft, and there is a sprinkling of decent laughs. But the film ultimately stands or falls - and it stands, believe me! - on two things: the music, and the cast. The music - sitting through this film brings home the strength of the Abba catalogue. There isn't a weak song among the two dozen which feature on the soundtrack. The music, produced by composer Benny Andersson, mostly wisely sticks very close to the original arrangements, and the occasional divergences (Greek bouzouki on I Had A Dream, for instance) are spot on. And the cast - well, they deliver. Brosnan's singing has been criticised, but he is always in tune, and he delivers a satisfactory vocal performance rather than dazzling with a polished singing technique (which he hasn't got). The four leading women are all wonderful. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski as Meryl Streep's two oldest friends are both very funny (Julie Walters has a particularly funny little bit of business in a rubber boat), and Baranski has her own knockout number. Amanda Seyfried as Sophie is simply delightful - she sings well, carries the plot and all the emotion which goes with it, and is very easy on the eye. And Meryl Streep is a revelation. This film is an utterly joyous experience. My old Mum and I came out of the cinema buoyed up by the experience of watching it, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone who enjoys musicals and/or Abba's music.

• Super Pooper

  moutonbear252008-07-20

  Let me tell you. Just because I've been listening to ABBA almost non-stop since I saw MAMMA MIA! two days ago does not mean I enjoyed the film all that much. It's just the Swedish pop super group's music is so darn infectious. You would think that energy would translate to feel-great good time at the movies but sadly this is not the case. First time feature filmmaker, Phyllida Lloyd, spends far too much time dragging her feet when they should be dancing up and down the beach and no matter how many shots of the moonlight shimmering against the waves there are, the film is still a clunker instead of a stunner. When a musical is paper thin on the stage, it runs the risk of being just plain silly on the screen. On the stage, MAMMA MIA! is a somewhat justified excuse to revive a bunch of ABBA tracks wrapped into a completely implausible, overly romantic farce. Young Sophie (played on screen by Amanda Seyfried) is but 20 and about to marry the very supportive and very handsome, Sky (Dominic Cooper). Something is missing though. Sophie has lived on this tiny Greek island her entire life and helped run a crumbling hotel with her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep) but she has never met her father. As far as she knows, he left before her mother could say anything to him but a chance encounter with her mother's diary from the summer of her conception narrows the possible men to three. So rather than talk to her mother about her desire to know where she came from, she invites all three men (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) to her wedding, pretending to be her mother looking for a reunion. Naturally all three men accept the invite and hijinks ensue. While the campiness of the whole affair is forgiven on stage because the suspension of disbelief doesn't apply, this screen version is too far removed from the stage to feel the least bit plausible. I believe in angels, something good in everything I see. And while there is very little good to focus on in MAMMA MIA!, at least there is always surprising Streep. She jumps up and down on beds, slides down banisters without the least bit of concern for breaking her hip. She can sing too. Much like she did in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Streep's performance as the lonely mother of the bride carries the film forward and, in the show stopping "The Winner Takes It All", elevates the film to heights it could never have achieved without her participation. Though the two don't get nearly enough screen time together, Streep and Seyfriend make a great mother/daughter combo. Seyfried's fresh exuberance seems like it might actually be inherited from her movie mom. The rest of the cast delivers varying results – Julie Walters clearly thinks she is a comic genius but she comes off too brash; Christine Baranski is miscast as an older bombshell making for some particularly awkward moments with younger men; and someone should ensure that Pierce Brosnan never sings on screen again. Ultimately, MAMMA MIA! never connects all of its components. A melodramatic moment is followed by a peppy ABBA song, which somehow erases everyone's pain. In that sense, ABBA's music is the perfect choice to set the tone as it is some of the most depressing pop lyricism set to upbeat melodies in pop history. While the contrast adds weight to the songs themselves, the musical masking casts an air of falseness that never lifts. What your left with is a compilation of poorly choreographed, plainly sung music videos. No offence, Meryl, but you are long past your MTV days.

• Brilliant feel good laugh out loud film

  fionaallen2008-06-24

  I saw this film at the screening on Sunday and was not too sure of what to expect from it. I hadn't seen the west end show so was not really aware of the story line but that really did not matter. As soon as the first song started I was loving it! The actors may not be that great at singing but does it matter?! They are actors after all and this is not the west end! The actors play the parts really well and make fun of themselves at the same time. The story line is fun and has laughs for all ages. Julie Waters is her fantastic self in it and Meryl Streep plays the mother really well. The dance scenes are great and well put together. Loads of people in the cinema were singing and dancing in their seats so just enjoy it and have some laughs for a few hours. If you take it for what it is, a fun laugh out loud film with good actors and fantastic songs, then you will enjoy this film so much.I suspect that this will be a summer box office hit! Enjoy it and have fun - you may need your tissues though as I'm pretty sure some of you will be crying with laughter at some of the scenes.

• Here we go again ...

  Chris_Docker2008-07-01

  Mamma Mia! Does the mention of anything Abba-ish send you cringing to a corner? Or are you already joining in and dancing on the tabletops? Maybe another few drinks . . . In short, if you are not allergic to Abba, book your tickets now. If you are, why would you be reading this? At a pinch, it is worth seeing for Meryl Streep alone, who not only throws herself headlong into every refrain with unashamed gusto, but adds a touch of class and nuance to what otherwise could be a one-dimensional adaptation. Streep vacillates engagingly between playing herself and not taking herself too seriously. Pierce Brosnan just about keeps up, and manages more expressions than he ever did as James Bond. Colin Firth and Julie Waters trail behind somewhat. Yet Mama Mia! is a roller coaster of emotion, careering colourfully from the blue waters of the Adriatic, bursting 'like Aphrodite's Fountain' into the lives of Donna (Meryl) , her lovers and friends, and her soon-to-be-wed daughter. It is the party spirit that says kick your shoes off and sing silly cheesy songs. Altogether now. And yes – there's a story. Donna's daughter Sophie is getting married. To the buff-looking Sky. Only – where's her dad? She's never met him. A sneak-peek at Mom's diary shows Mom had three lovers before Sophie was born and Sophie secretly invites all of them. This is a film of threesomes. Three past lovers (Sam, Bill and Harry). Three close friends (Donna and two best pals). And, not to be outdone, Sophie meets up with two other young girls at the start of the film. The breakneck pace still allows for brilliantly put together shots. Like Streep doing a 'Titanic' with drapes blowing in the wind. Or a pier-load of young hunky stag night crew doing a dance in trunks and deep-dive flippers. Moonlit boats and beaches to "I Have a Dream." Filmed on location, the views won't disappoint. And like a favourite song whose ending we know, the drama is in the details and execution. As with many adapted-from-stage musicals, two young leads are played by talented singers, and the older parts by serious actors can sing well enough. Streep manages extremely well. Her performance is so professional and assured it leaves others standing. Fortunately, it is perhaps easy to paper over any cracks in musical comedy. Sweeney Todd relied heavily on Depp's charisma and stunning cinematography. Across the Universe, too heavily on the songs. Mamma Mia!, on the other hand, simply tailors everything to its joyous headlong rush. The songs fit naturally to the action. Streep even manages to sing them with her tongue firmly in cheek. She confesses to having been a "stupid reckless little slut" but then says she "grew up". (To which her pals chime in, "Well grow back down again!") The film is not without faults. There is a notable lack of chemistry between the people that throw themselves rapturously against each others' faces. Even Streep looks less than convincing in a brief lips-mash. And the men are a bit croaky in the singing department (Hugh Grant might even have been a preferable casting choice). And some of the time-line is wobbly. For instance, strange as it may seem, music from more than twenty years ago does not all come from the same era. So reminiscing about flower power (early sixties) in the same breath as a Johnny Rotten t-shirt (Sex Pistols, mid-late seventies) is either anachronistic or wishful thinking. Sadly, I am of a generation that can remember Abba-mania. The records would shoot to number one. Yet even then few people would admit to buying them. I used to manage a night club, and Abba was great music to ask a girl up to dance. My entire chat-up repertoire at that time consisted of, "Would you like to dance?" and "Do you want to come back for a coffee?" But girls would be so happy dancing to Mamma Mia they'd say yes anyway. I'd fall in love with a new girl each week. Ah, those were the days! Now there's a new generation of Abba fans who have no need to 'come out of a closet'. Abba is retro-chique. Even Madonna segued an Abba riff into one of her songs. From karaoke to hen nights. From '70s' nights to gay dance-floors. Dress up. Camp it up. Sing it up. Get sassy and cheesy. Or, if you're old enough to remember, fly back in time to wonderful memories. Mamma Mia!, whatever detractors might say, has been one of the most successful stage shows of recent times. Supported by the same director and original band members, the movie may well reach the similar fan bases. Or just the party spirit in all of us.