Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Mamma Mia! (2008) Film Review - Meryl Streep

Plot Summary - Film version of the Broadway musical, based around the songs of ABBA - the story is about beautiful twenty-year old Sophie, on the eve of her wedding day, who wants to find out who her real father is. Taking a peak into former flower-child mama's diary from the 70s, Sophie has determined that her father is one of three possible men - so, she invites all three (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard) to the wedding under the guise that mom, Donna (Meryl Streep), has invited them. Now - which one is her father? Who will walk Sophie down the aisle? And does it really matter, with all these great Abba songs strung together into a loose-plot featuring stag and hen party night evening, followed by the next day's wedding in a breath-taking setting loaded with tons of color and music?! Ah, how nice! Sophie's two gal pals, in a small way (they're not given much to do) and Donna's two gal pals, in a big way, add to the comedy/musical mix.

Review - Lively, colorful, full of energy, and a little bit campy - I love movie musicals, I love musical theater, and I'm a big fan of ABBA, so I knew I would enjoy this one. The story is simple and song-filled, the on-location scenery on a Greek island, with turquoise-green water and gorgeous villa, adds to the atmosphere. I have one little tiny complaint and that is that since the movie is mainly wrapped around lots and lots of great songs, having great singers would have been better, I think - Meryl Streep's singing was okay (for the most part), Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth (as much as I love that guy) didn't have much in the way of good singing voices. The actress, Amanda Seyfried, who plays the daughter has a very pretty voice, but only sang a couple of numbers - the "deleted scene" on the DVD was actually one of her musical numbers too, don't know why it was eliminated from the film. The two actresses who play the mom's pals - Julie Walters and Christine Baranski - were a good choice and added to the fun of the film. I like the extra feature "sing-a-long" that is on the DVD! I did really enjoy this film a lot though - made for a fun b-day morning for me. Rating - 9/10 stars

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