Mamma Mia! (B+ or 3/4 stars)
The verdict is in. And yes, you can 'Take a Chance' on 'Mamma Mia!' (directed by Phyllida Lloyd). Set to the music of ABBA, 'MM' aims to get you laughing & dancing in the aisles (as it does on Broadway). The film takes place on an insanely gorgeous, tucked-away isle in Greece's North Agean Sea. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls) is preparing to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper, The History Boys, Starter for 10) at her mom's hotel. Raised by her loving, but single mother Donna (Meryl Streep), Sophie has had the best childhood a girl could hope for. Only 1 thing has been missing ... her father. She would have loved for him to give her away at the wedding. And after reading pages from her mom's old diary (the summer before she was born), she's discovered 3 possible candidates: Sam, Harry, & Bill (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard). The only way for her to find out which one is her dad is to invite them all & see what happens; claiming that once she sees them she'll 'know' which one it is. Haha, it ain't that easy.
Struggling to keep her hotel intact, Donna is happy to welcome 2 of her oldest, dearest, & zaniest friends to her abode (for the wedding): Tanya & Rosie (the always entertaining Christine Baranski & Julie Walters). Once Donna discovers that her 3 old flames are on the grounds, she starts panicking. Long has she worried about the possibility of Sophie finding out who her dad is; heck, Donna doesn't even know! She doesn't want to see them ... but some old feelings ARE re-kindled. And after being introduced to all the main players, the fun really begins. Plans go awry. Old loves are tested. New loves are forged. And poor Sophie doesn't knew how her mom will react when finding out it was 'she' who summoned the 3 ghosts from her past.
'Mamma Mia!' is one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time {heck, I've worn out my soundtrack}. The fact that an entire plot (thin as it may be) revolves around ABBA's songs is incredible. None of the songs have a similar thread. But 'Mamma Mia!' creates the thread for us. The lush locales make us want to call our travel agents. The wonderful cast (of varying musical abilities) makes no apologies for acting like complete goofballs. For 103 breezy minutes, 'MM' is clean, good-natured, silly; and doesn't take itself seriously {thank God}. Some of the musical numbers translate very well from the play: Dancing Queen, Lay All Your Love on Me, Super Trouper, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Voulez-Vous, & The Winner Takes it All (aided by a powerful & emotional rendition by Streep).
'Mamma Mia!' may not be for everyone. The choreography can be juvenile. The camerawork is amateurish. And it's rough around the edges; a film that a Julie Taymor or a Rob Marshall may have smoothed out. But if you go into it with a loose frame of mind, you'll likely find yourself (as I did) grinning like a fool, having a BLAST & disregarding it's plethora of imperfections. 'MM' revels in its imperfections, and is - in some ways - more successful because of it. The film is funny (special thanks to Walters, Firth & Skarsgard). For those wanting pure escape from serious movies (or just life), this is the movie to sit through. Because the songs are sung in a conversational manner, the singing won't be the best ... but that's kind of the point! I want to hear Julie Walter's cockney voice emoting a song, not a straight ABBA regurgitation. All said & done, you'll love watching 59 yr. old Meryl as she cannon-balls into the sea. You'll laugh as Pierce Brosnan croaks his way through 'SOS'. And when the ABBA music begins, you'll perk up in your seat.
Struggling to keep her hotel intact, Donna is happy to welcome 2 of her oldest, dearest, & zaniest friends to her abode (for the wedding): Tanya & Rosie (the always entertaining Christine Baranski & Julie Walters). Once Donna discovers that her 3 old flames are on the grounds, she starts panicking. Long has she worried about the possibility of Sophie finding out who her dad is; heck, Donna doesn't even know! She doesn't want to see them ... but some old feelings ARE re-kindled. And after being introduced to all the main players, the fun really begins. Plans go awry. Old loves are tested. New loves are forged. And poor Sophie doesn't knew how her mom will react when finding out it was 'she' who summoned the 3 ghosts from her past.
'Mamma Mia!' is one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time {heck, I've worn out my soundtrack}. The fact that an entire plot (thin as it may be) revolves around ABBA's songs is incredible. None of the songs have a similar thread. But 'Mamma Mia!' creates the thread for us. The lush locales make us want to call our travel agents. The wonderful cast (of varying musical abilities) makes no apologies for acting like complete goofballs. For 103 breezy minutes, 'MM' is clean, good-natured, silly; and doesn't take itself seriously {thank God}. Some of the musical numbers translate very well from the play: Dancing Queen, Lay All Your Love on Me, Super Trouper, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Voulez-Vous, & The Winner Takes it All (aided by a powerful & emotional rendition by Streep).
'Mamma Mia!' may not be for everyone. The choreography can be juvenile. The camerawork is amateurish. And it's rough around the edges; a film that a Julie Taymor or a Rob Marshall may have smoothed out. But if you go into it with a loose frame of mind, you'll likely find yourself (as I did) grinning like a fool, having a BLAST & disregarding it's plethora of imperfections. 'MM' revels in its imperfections, and is - in some ways - more successful because of it. The film is funny (special thanks to Walters, Firth & Skarsgard). For those wanting pure escape from serious movies (or just life), this is the movie to sit through. Because the songs are sung in a conversational manner, the singing won't be the best ... but that's kind of the point! I want to hear Julie Walter's cockney voice emoting a song, not a straight ABBA regurgitation. All said & done, you'll love watching 59 yr. old Meryl as she cannon-balls into the sea. You'll laugh as Pierce Brosnan croaks his way through 'SOS'. And when the ABBA music begins, you'll perk up in your seat.