MAMMA MIA !

“MAMMA MIA!” (Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Stellan Skarsgard & A Whole Lot Of Extras That Can’t Sing Either)
Father, forgive me for I have sinned.... I went to see the Abba movie... Before you sentence me, however there is something else I must confessed... I kinda liked Abba...
No, Father, I’m not gay; the only reason I went to the movie was because my wife had her heart set on seeing it, I was being a good husband –something I’m not adept at either... So should I go wash my ears out with holy water? What’s that? Why did I like Abba? Well, they came along in the late 70’s – You know, when disco ruled the music scene – so compared to that noise, they weren’t half bad – awfully tuneful those little Swedes. Plus, you know the blonde was a cutie-pie – had a nice set of vocal chords on her as well... Yes, I wished they had used her voice to overdub Meryl Streep’s warbling, but what can you do? If we’re done here, can I get on with my review?
Thanks Father, & a hearty ‘remember Huard’s Hail Mary’ to you, too...
If you can stomach actors who can’t sing &, like me, you didn’t find Abba’s catchy little tunes all that annoying because Agnetha Faltskog was so darn cute, then you’ll probably enjoy “Mamma Mia!” My wife sure did.
Here’s the deal; they took a bunch of Abba songs & fit them to a storyline... Well, that’s what they tried to do – it doesn’t always work! The story is strictly chick flick material –
Donna (Streep) had sex with 3 different men in the same month years ago & they all left the Greek Island she lived on, so she never knew which one impregnated her.
Now age 20, her daughter, Sophie (Seyfried – the only member of the cast that can ‘almost’ carry a tune) is getting married. After reading about her 3 possible fathers in her mother’s diary, she invites all 3 men to her wedding. Sam (Brosnan) Harry (Firth) & Bill (Skarsgard) arrive together on Bill’s boat (As fate would have it)
From there fun, frivolity & mayhem ensue in the form of characters breaking out into Abba tunes. Fortunately, some of the songs are edited so they fit the story. Unfortunately, “The Winner Takes It All” wasn’t one of them... The low-lite for me was the ‘butchering’ of this nice semi-heartbreaking song by the lead actress. What makes it sink even lower is the fact that it doesn’t have a place in the movie, so it not only sounds bad, it looks stupid & doesn’t make sense. Speaking of looks though, & I’m not one to notice this type of thing, but this is a very picturesque film – Quite colorful & beautiful scenery, for those of you who do enjoy that sort of thing.
The odd highlight (for me) was “Dancing Queen”, one of those catchy melodies that I did find annoying back in the late 70’s that works here as a joyful singalong involving the entire island.
It was one of the rare instances where the actors seem to have fun while doing something they weren’t comfortable with (Singing)
The cast is fine acting-wise, Julie Walters has always been a favorite of mine since “Educating Rita” many years ago & I found her character the most enjoyable here. There were a couple of uncomfortable scenes; one involving Christine Baranski & a poor young Jamaican-looking actor who had to pretend to have the hots for her; & another involving Colin Firth removing his shirt to impress his new found love...
Perhaps it was the ‘expectation factor’ weighing in – I went into this thinking I would loathe it, by the mere fact that it was the lowest form of movie making – the (ugh) ‘Musical’. But I only cringed a few times & thankfully on a lot of the songs the ‘chorus’
would become louder as the tune progressed, drowning out the actor or actress who couldn’t sing a lick...