Mamma Mia! The Movie

”Mama Mia”…A Very Mixed Bag

I like musicals. 
 
Of course I am a female and women, as I guess by instinct only, tend to like musicals more than men.  Such as actors suddenly bursting into song at the weirdest of moments upon the big screen is not normally the stuff males of the human kind like.
 
So okay, maybe it’s just my husband.  And my three other husbands.
 
Point is I’ve been around men in my lifetime and I assert, anecdotally, men do not normally like musical movies.
 
In the case of Mama Mia, however, my current husband had mixed emotions because he is, like me, of the era of this movie’s music and it was music he liked as a young man.
 
Except he doesn’t much like musicals.
 
But okay, I do and yes, I liked “Mama Mia”.  I liked the music, I liked the acting, I liked the characters, I liked the setting, I liked the camera work, I liked the costumes.
 
I didn’t much care for the story.
 
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/imdb/vi3165782297/">Video trailer for this movie.</a>
 
<img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/patfish/Movies/mamamiamoviesmontage.jpg">
 
<U>Actors in this movie:</u>
Meryl Streep ...  Donna Sheridan
Pierce Brosnan ...  Sam Carmichael
Colin Firth ...  Harry Bright
Stellan Skarsgård ...  Bill Anderson
Julie Walters ...  Rosie
Dominic Cooper ...  Sky
Amanda Seyfried ...  Sophie Sheridan
Christine Baranski ...  Tanya
Ashley Lilley ...  Ali
Nancy Baldwin ...  Sam's PA
Rachel McDowall ...  Lisa
Heather Emmanuel ...  Harry's Housekeeper
Ricardo Montez ...  Stannos
Mia Soteriou ...  Arina
Enzo Squillino Jr. ...  Gregoris
 
So Donna Sheridan runs some kind of hotel thing located somewhere on the ocean, not sure where or what country.  But it’s a beautiful setting with, naturally, breezes constantly blowing over a setting of azure blue skies over clean, clear refreshing ocean water.
 
Donna Sheridan has a daughter, Sophie, and Donna Sheridan has no idea who is the child’s father.
 
Well not exactly NO idea.  It could be one of three men who passed through Donna’s life all in the span of one very busy month when Donna’s child Sophie was assumedly conceived.
 
The movie involves Sophie’s wedding, her invite to all of these three possible fathers, their collective astonishing acceptance of the honor and moves on through this rather improbable plot line that left me, well a bit embarrassed.
 
Donna Sheridan, played by that most wonderful of actresses Meryl Streep- of apples with Alar fame so much for Streep’s activism may she stick to acting her liberal self- is a very likeable character. 
 
She was once, along with two other youthful friends, a singer who then became a single hotel proprietress who eschewed males of all sort, alleging their uselessness except for that sperm thing and even at that Donna Sheridan messed it all up.
 
The idea is that the mother knows just WHO is the sperm donor as children should have a father whose identity they know and in the best of all worlds, that father will know these children exist and will stick around to raise them.
 
But maybe it’s just me.
 
For Donna Sheridan was a nice lady who wasn’t a slut as one might think.  She just had that one busy month and it all happened because she had a broken heart anyway.
 
So while I quite enjoyed the movie with its fine music, beautiful scenery, pretty costumes and sometimes funny scenes, the thought of that pretty child having lived her life without ever having a proper father in her life, her somewhat pathetic attempt to locate him to give her away at her wedding, her obvious regret at never knowing her father, well this lent an aura of sadness to the movie.
 
Sadness and musicals, I’m just not sure they mesh all that well.
 
It was this discomfort that detracted from my enjoyment of the film.  Which is not to say that overall I didn’t enjoy it.  I did.
 
If I didn’t feel so damn sorry for poor Sophie Sheridan throughout the whole thing I would definitely have enjoyed the movie much more.
 
That’s the fact and what’s my point? 
 
That maybe fatherless children and “courageous” mothers who raise them alone are not the most ideal stuff of happy song and strut?

Mamma Mia!

Since I have no more money I can't really afford to see new movies in theaters for a while (unless someone happens to pay for me) so I'm reviewing a movie from last summer, "Mamma Mia!"...starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan and based on the unbelievable hit play with songs from ABBA...I have never seen the play on Broadway...so I have nothing to compare it to. But I assume the play was a lot better than the movie adaptation.

Meryl Streep plays Donna Sheridan. She lives in Greece and runs a hotel there. Her daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is getting married. But the big mystery is who is her father (she wants him to attend the wedding)...She has narrowed it down to three possible guys from her mother's past...Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Harry Bright (Collin Firth), and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard). There's the plot...held together with ABBA songs.

Meryl Streep is the sole reason why any human being would even consider seeing this movie. She is the best actress currently living/making movies and she she can essentially play any character that is given to her. Throughout the entire movie she is both of funny and energetic and just a joy to watch (My review for "The Proposal" was very pro-Betty White...this one is very pro-Meryl Streep) Also she is pretty convincing playing a character 15 years younger that her actual age, 59. And on top of that she has a great singing voice which can be seen in several places like when she sings "Mamma Mia!" and "The Winner Takes it All"...my favorite part of the whole movie. Luckily her voice drowns out Pierce Brosnan's in their songs together...I'll get more into his involvement in the movie later on...) So if you don't love her...then feel free to avoid the movie at all costs. And also if you hate musicals and/or ABBA this movie is also one to avoid.

The two actresses who play Donna's friends, Rosie and Tanya (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski) are also enjoyable parts of the movie (as well as the on location shooting in Greece...which looks great...just had to add that in there somewhere). They have great chemistry with Meryl Streep and the 3 do a good job with songs such as "Dancing Queen"

The 3 guys in the movie don't fare as well. None of them can sing. Their songs together are some of the worst on the entire soundtrack. And none of them seen like they have chemistry of any kind with Meryl Streep. However, by far the worst is Pierce Brosnan. Someone said that he could sing. That individual is the biggest liar...ever...that statement is a complete falsehood. He can try to sing but he never succeeds. He has no range and little or no control over what he voice does.

The recordings of the ABBA songs are pretty good. I actually prefer Meryl Streep's rendition to the originals in some cases. However, they don't feel natural at all in the movie. Everytime a character starts to sing it kind of caught me by surprise and did not flow well. This also adds to the overall cheesiness of the movie and some embarrassingly awful scenes...very interesting choreography at times...kind of wonder what people were thinking. "Sweeney Todd", "Chicago", "Hairspray", and "Dreamgirls" are examples of successful musicals in recent years, where the music placement seems natural and fits the scene well. And unfortunately "Mamma Mia!" does not belong on that list...and for good reason.

2 stars...yes, you guessed it...mainly for Meryl Streeps involvement. Overall I was very dissapointed with this movie (and I love most musicals)...if you must, rent it for a dollar at Hannaford or Wal-Mart. One last note...the writer, director, and producer of the movie had no clue at all how to make movies. Catherine Johnson, Phyllida Lloyd, and Judy Craymer all did the play. Writing, directing and producing plays is much different than doing the same for movies, another reason why the movie adaptation did not work well.

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Mamma Mia

So Mamma Mia! is the film adaptation of the smash hit Broadway musical. it's about Sophie, a bride to be who wants to have her real father walk her down the isle of her wedding. problem is, neither she nor her mother knows who the dude is and she has three possible dads. And to shake things up, the whole film is told through the songs of ABBA.



I am the biggest Broadway geek ever but I never liked Mamma Mia! It was a poor excuse for a musical that didn't need much effort in the writing and orchestration of the songs. Unlike Chicago, Hairspray, Rent which had genuine original songs from the works of the stage people, Mamma Mia just borrowed popular songs which everyone already likes and kind of bypasses the hardest part of a musical.



But I love this film man. The key thing that makes the film version better than the stage one is the songs. Now if you listen to the stage Mamma Mia! the songs sound like they were sung by aunties doing the karaoke. But in the film version, there's lot;s of energy, fresh interpretation of the songs and the pure awesomeness of  Meryl Streep that makes listening to the songs so much fun.



And did I mention how much I adore Meryl Streep in this? This woman is hitting 60 years old and we have her dancing and singing and doing splits in this. She is with no doubt one of the most respectable actresses in Hollywood. I loved her in Deer unter, I loved her in Bridge Over Madison County and Out of Africa. And she can take mediocre roles like this and Miranda Priestly and still rock them.



Also special props to the incomparable Julie Walters and Christine Baranski who reminds me a lot of my mom and aunty. Seriously. Even their hairstyles look the same. Baranski is a total goddess in this film and her musical scene "Does You're Mother Know" is second best to Julie Walter's "Take A Chance on Me" oh and by the way, Pearce Brosnan singing is just dreadful.



I really like the art direction of the film. The blue and white color composition fits perfectly with the peaceful Greek island. I like the more subtler approach to the art style compared to the stage version which was more colorful and flashy. Which is great, but the blue and white was incredibly pleasing to the eye.



And the cinematography was awesome to. The wedding scene in the sunset is absolutely fantastic. And that wedding dress. Wow. Amanda Seyfried looks beautiful in that scene. Which is saying a lot, cause her face is kinda weird looking. Doesn't fit the proportion of her body at all. LOL.



It's a fun musical film that will surely entertain the older audience and won't bore us teens to death.

RATING: 7/10

NicholasC

Mamma Mia

The grudge movie is a simple concept: you take a movie you wouldn’t want to watch in a million years and you go to watch it, grudgingly – because it’s something your partner wants to see. For millions of women across the world, this summer, the official grudge movie isHellboy II. For millions of men, the grudge movie is Mamma Mia. Though these two movies have little in common at a surface level, they share a common bond of inducing terror in the opposite sex and – while not being good movies – they are also both hugely enjoyable (provided one isn’t compelled to watch them under duress).

Mamma Mia is based on a successful stage musical. This in itself would make most heterosexual men nervous. But Mamma Mia is also the infamous (in heterosexual male folklore) ABBA musical: that is, a musical based around the songs of ABBA, possibly the campest act in the history of pop. Add to this the fact that Mamma Mia is a weddingstory and… It’s just not fair. We men are a hardy bunch, but surely anABBA musical based around a wedding is a harsh punishment for leaving the toilet seat up and not having an opinion about swatches. Ok, so maybe we do want to drag the women in our lives to watchHellboy II: The Golden Army… There’s no need to get nasty about it.

Meryl Streep stars as Donna, the ex-pat owner of a run-down hotel on a scenic Greek island. Donna’s beaming daughter, Sophie, is getting married – but alas, like Hellboy, she doesn’t know who her father is. Unbeknownst to Donna, Sophie has invited three of her possible fathers to the wedding, hoping Donna will identify which of them owes child support (only kidding). The three paternal hopefuls are: Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellen Skarsgård, or, as most women in the audience would have it: James Bond, Mr Darcy and Some Swedish Guy. Acting is not really at the forefront of Mamma Mia’s concerns for its cast, but they are all required to sing ABBA songs, and to dance around a bit.

Streep is on good form in Mamma Mia. She’s long ago stopped with the funny accents and the glacial hauteur which defined her through the 80s. The thaw which began in earnest with Adaptation and which acelerated through Angels in America (where Streep played a Rabbi) and A Prairie Home Companion has come full-melt with Mamma Mia. Streep laughs! She dances! She wears dungarees! She can even sing to boot, and she looks to be having a good time. It’s a performance you can only give if you’ve been a star, stopped being a star, come back, cherry picked the good roles and seen off the opposition. And Streep has always been a gal with a good sense of humour. It’s hard to forget how Roger Ebert once described her as the “merriest” of actresses. Here, her joy is infectious, even if you don’t like musicals. There’s abandon in her voice. Why not belt out The Winner Takes it All?

Pierce Brosnan is staggeringly awful as a singer, but you’ll forgive him. The former James Bond, former Remmington Steele (remember him?) has built up quite a hoard of good-will over the years, and cashing it in for ABBA isn’t the worst thing he could have done (this isn’t Brosnan’sZardoz). Pierce has always had a way of seeming dignified, regardless of what a movie was doing around him. He’s driven an invisible car; so he can handle making an ass of himself. You know (and shame on you if you don’t know) that he and Meryl will get together by the end, but the two stars make something of this nonsense, even if it is something based on nostalgia (Bond and Karen Blixen, together at last).

Ok, so I wound up enjoying this grudge movie. The shame of it is; it’s a common admission on my part. Grudge movies have a way of disarming me (this may go for you too – watch yourself young man!) by simple virtue of subterranean expectations. Mamma Mia won me over in part because I just couldn’t hate it for an hour and forty eight minutes. Ok, and because the songs are catchy and because, if you’re British, you’re practically raised on ABBA songs (think of it as our Pledge of Allegiance, only made while drunk and dancing at a nightclub). For women, I don’t know that Hellboy II will ever have the same effect, but… for every grudge movie there must be an equal and opposite grudge match.

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MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE (2008)

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: From the smash hit stage show comes this larger than life musical epic. Bringing you an all-star cast, the songs of ABBA and an extravaganza of dancing and laughter, Mamma Mia! The Movie is the feel good film of the year. Bride to be Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is on a quest to find her father before her big day. There is just one problem, she’s just not sure who he is. After secretly reading her mother Donna’s (Meryl Streep) old diaries, she discovers he is on of three past loves. Knowing her mother would not approve, she invites them all. Sophie desperately tries to keep their presence hidden but it’s not long before the secret is out and the fun begins…

FILM REVIEW: You cannot really be too harsh on a film like this; it’s pure, escapist fun. I’ve never enjoyed musicals for the simple reason that when I see actors break out in to song, the suspension of disbelief evaporates, leaving a corny, unreal feel to the proceedings. “Mamma Mia!“ is not immune to that problem, however, the cast sing and act in such a genuine fashion, with a story that is directed with passion and enthusiasm by original stage director Phyllida Lloyd, that it’s hard not to have fun watching the trials of young Sophie as she tries to establish who her real father is, and in the process, uncover her mother’s more promiscuous past so she can move forward with her own wedding, marriage and life.
The story is very simple: young Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to be married, but she has never known the identity of her true father. One day, she discovers her mother’s diary and learns that she could have three possible fathers. She decides to secretly invite all three to her wedding. When her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) finds out, all hell breaks loose, or should I say, all music breaks loose as the characters all come to terms with what happened in the past so they can all move forward.
The story and plot are a little thin, but it somehow manages to provide a great structure to hang the ABBA songs, and they fit very well within this framework. Another plus is the setting; a beautiful Greek island which sets the stage for a grander canvas than most musicals can afford. One caveat though is the studio-based work looks blatantly obvious, particularly when sequences move from location to studio, highlighting the differences between the natural beauty of the island and the harsh, blue-screen work of the studio. This is perhaps the only technical down-side to Phyllida Lloyd’s direction in that these transitions were not done particularly well.
ABBA songs are inherently catchy, and you would have heard them at one time or another. Almost all of their hits, and certainly all of their very well known hits are sung with much sincerity, passion and enthusiasm by an energetic cast. Meryl Streep leads the way, proving that she is very talented singer as well as an actress. Amanda Seyfried, although a little over the top in the acting department does a magnificent job singing some of the tougher songs. The men even have a good show, with only Pierce Brosnan looking odd at times, not handling the more theatrical aspects of the piece as well as the rest of the cast.
One of the nicest parts of this film is that the identity of the father is not actually revealed in the end because nobody knows. All three men decide to be a part of Sophie’s life with her consent, making way for a very happy, yet somewhat unconventional ending where everybody gets to live happily ever after, as befits a film of this type.
“Mamma Mia! The Movie” is corny but fun. The film is a must for all ABBA fans and/or musicals.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer on this film is flawless, almost too good in a way as some of the studio-shot scenes are obviously apparent in the images compared to the location shoots. The colours, richness and contrast of the images are nonetheless excellent. It’s a shame that all of the movie was not shot on location as the images captured on the Greek Islands are magnificently captured and presented on this DVD. The audio is spot on, and it needed to be, and you will want to turn up the volume whenever the cast start belting out another one of the ABBA songs. This is an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: Given this is only a single disc release, this DVD is jam-packed full of quality extras that will give fans of this musical reason to cheer. There are a number of traditional extras such as documentaries on the making of the film, including explorations of the cast, origins of the stage show and film, coverage of the detailed choreography and voice training required of the cast and a look inside ABBA itself and why they became such a big phenomenon. There are a number of deleted scenes, including one musical number which was cut, a few minutes of hilarious out-takes, and a music video sung by the cast of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” The director’s commentary is insightful and very informative, containing very little silence or pauses. The cherry on top however is a nice karaoke function that is embedded in to the film where you can sing-a-long with the characters as they perform the songs in the film. This is a fantastic collection of extras, all the more impressive that they were all somehow squeezed on to one disc.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it.

FILM RATING: 7.5/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 9/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 8/10 

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

Mamma Mia!

Last summer, Hairspray was a surprise hit. Mamma Mia! did not follow in its shoes, at least not in the US. Apparently in Britain, it’s passed Titanic as the #1 film of all time. To be fair, I believe this film came out the same week as one of the summer blockbusters, but I can’t remember which one.
Watching this, I was surprised to find out that Meryl Streep can sing. I thought she was just an extremely talented actress.
The same goes for the 3 guys, although I think Pierce Brosnan is the weakest of the trio.
Two actors who are no strangers to blockbuster films make appearances in this film, but I almost didn’t know it was them. Rosie is played my Julie Waters, who may be better known as Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potterfilms. Stellan Skarsgard is even more of a surprise because he is not covered in barnacles. Most know his as Bootstrap Bill from the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
Usually with a musical, the songs move the plot forward. However, in this one, it felt like they just were injected in to fill up some time. That being said, the music makes this film. If you take the songs out, this would be nothing more than your typical chick flick with the daughter getting married and not knowing who her father is.
While this isn’t the best movie in the world, it is obvious that the cast had fun making it, and in doing so make the film enjoyable for those watching it.
If you’re a fan of ABBA, then you’re going to love this film. It contains a ton of their songs. For those of us ABBA-challenged, it is still pretty good and worth seeing, but for me, it was just an average musical, not up there in the realm of West Side Story, Rent, Chicago, and others.

http://thankyounetflix.wordpress.com

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Mamma Mia

The devil comes out of her Prada as a shabbily dressed single mother who has raised her daughter all alone on a beautiful island of Greece. The story of a young bride-to-be searching for her father has been nicely woven around all of the ABBA’s hit songs.

Donna (Meryl Streep) runs a tourist villa, Donna Villa, along with her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who is getting married soon to Sky (Dominic Cooper).

Sophie desperately wants to walk down the aisle on her father’s arm. In her quest to find out who he might be, she stumbles upon her mom’s old diary and ends up inviting three possible men to the wedding- Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) and Harry (Colin Firth) from out of her mother’s past!! And then starts the fun-frolic-some musical fantasy trip down the aisle, which will be cherished by all age groups.

Meryl Streep gets better with age, as she injects a powerful performance in the movie and looks fabulous too. She is the ‘Dancing Queen’, who steals the show.

Supporting her are her two crazy best friends, Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters), who have come to join in the wedding fun but have to act as Donna’s support too, as she is quite taken aback after seeing her three ex-boyfriends at the wedding.

It is always a delight to watch Pierce Brosnan on screen, and he does full justice to his character, though he doesn’t impress much with his singing.

Overall, Mamma Mia is bound to dance its way to the box-offices. If ABBA is the music for your ears, you should not miss this one.

 

Chanda was here

Last updated: 2010-01-16 02:48:40 by FadingMemory