Plot Sophie (Seyfried) invites three men (Brosnan, Firth, Skarsgard) who could be her father to her wedding in Greece, unbeknownst to her single mother Donna (Streep). Shock reunions, confusions and Abba’s greatest hits ensue.
Review
Okay, it ain’t West Side Story, but any musical that’s packed them in for a decade, played 170 cities in eight languages and been seen by over 30 million people clearly has something going for it. That something is the songs of innocent vitality and mature heartbreak from the classic Abba catalogue; Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus’s tunes inspired and propel a charming, energetic little tale that is basically a hen party with bells on.
Since the greatest actress of her generation can also sing, Meryl Streep was an obvious shoo-in when the show’s creators got the backing of Tom Hanks’s Playtone (looking for another Big Fat Greek Wedding?) to make the movie version. Streep and her comedic bosom buddies, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, make a mighty sweet rumpus as the aging ex rock chicks. Amanda Seyfried and The History Boys’ Dominic Cooper play the young lovers, and are suitably attractive in beachwear. And then Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and token Swede Stellan Skarsgard, as the possible fathers, cavort with a blushing agreeability and are, arguably, more endearing for their air of schoolboy effort than polished musical stars would be.
As you would expect, performance quality thus ranges from Streep emotively nailing ’The Winner Takes It All’ to taverna karaoke. The manly contingent have the sheepish air of men who would rather be at football, but they get how amusing it is when they burst into song, and gamely play along.
The major gripe is that, as we’ve often seen when a respected stage director steps to the screen, the results of mixing realism with theatricality are, well, mixed. Some sequences work. There’s a joyous ‘Dancing Queen’, which sees Streep and gal pals drawing village women down to the sea. ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ hilariously features a beach boy chorus line stomping their stuff in flippers. Other bits betray a maddening want of cinematic savvy. In Streep and Brosnan’s big moment his head is cut off. What the hell? Any kid with a camera could have found another angle or stood Meryl on a crate.
But it’s full of super troupers and smiles. Don’t leave during the credits or you’ll miss the encore, with the stars in 70s satin and platform boots giving ‘Waterloo’ plenty of welly.
Verdict Cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers. Guaranteed to put grins on tweenies who are in to High School Musical, grans with a pair of platforms still at the back of the wardrobe, and a lot of people in between tone.
Watched it again in the bus on the way back from Paris:
On the second viewing it still stands. Uber wrong of course and way over the top but it does exactly what you expect from a movie like this: entertain.
Highly enjoyable and the lyrics of the songs fit excellent. Really well done!
/b] ... Read More
Sorry - but to quote Simon Pegg - "AM I GOING COMPLETELY MAD?!" how on earth has this piece of tripe, excreted from the bowels of some appalling musical become such a hit - is the world we live in so bad that to escape it we find it fun to endure Pierce Brosnan acting as if he was in a school boy choir! What does it say about our society when such drivel becomes the highest grossing film of all time - probably it is watched by the same people who rush to install Leon Jackson or Steve B... Read More
What a terrible amateur movie!! Generally a stunning cast who all seem to have been given no direction except to imagine they are in an amateur panto.
Particular note for the young female lead - very strong in Victoria Mara - who here is unwatchable smug, coy and cutsie pie - with lots of silent mugging and eye rolling when she has no lines.
Really, tremendously bad. I was embarassed for the stars. ... Read More
If you watch this film without cracking a smile and dont feel warm inside then you are not human!
Brosnan is an idiot - I loved him in it! ... Read More
If you watch this film without cracking a smile and dont feel warm inside then you are not human!
Brosnan is an idiot - I loved him in it! ... Read More
It's camp, badly acted, undesiciplined in its direction, Colin Firth can't dance or sing or act, Pierce Brosnan can't dance or sing or act and the plot is so thin they have to fit ABBA songs around it to try make it look coherent. And with all that, Mamma Mia! is brilliant. ... Read More
An Abba fan since birth i thought how can anybody sing abba songs as good as the real thing???how wrong i was...If yu don't enjoy this film, there is something seriously wrong with you....A triple a cast who make fun of themselves...no car chases,murders,stabbings...just great,great fun from start to end..It's the only time(i was in Downtown Disney cinema)i've seen people up dancing in the aisles...but what a great movie...no doubt ... Read More
Classic
Excellent
Good
Fair
Tragic
