A Review of Mamma Mia! The Movie
A Look at the New Movie Based on Mamma Mia the Musical
Jul 15, 2008
Mamma Mia is being called the feel good cinema event for the summer or according to Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter "the most fun to be had at the movies this or any other recent summer."
Sandra Hall of the Sydney Morning Herald wrote that Mamma Mia is "A film that actually earns the exclamation mark that adorns its title, thanks to the exuberance that Streep and her co-stars bring to the job of reviving the rituals of the movie musical."
Mamma Mia!, the film, is based on Mamma Mia, the musical, which already been seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and 8 languages around the world. This is the musical that has had audiences up dancing in their seats.
For anyone who enjoyed listening to the music of the Swedish group ABBA, enjoys a Romantic Comedy or a musical this is the summer fun film for you.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
Runtime: 108 min
The Basic Plot of Mamma Mia
The movie story involves a mother, a daughter and three possible fathers.
To help celebrate her wedding, the daughter seeks to discover the identity of her father. She invites three men from her mother's past back to the Greek island to see which one is her father.
The movie involves coming of age, learning to let go of children, coping with lost love, discovering new love all on a backdrop of a beautiful Greek island and set to the music of ABBA.
The Cast of Mamma Mia the Movie
Meryl Streep plays the role of single mother Donna who has been raising her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård play the three potential fathers Sam, Harry and Bill. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters play Meryl Streep's friends and former group mates, Tanya and Rose and Dominic Cooper plays Sophie's intended, Sky.
The Mamma Mia Soundtrack Songs
The soundtrack for Mamma Mia was mixed and produced by two of the original ABBA members, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. These two combined forces with the musicians who played on the original ABBA songs to record the songs for the movie soundtrack. Benny Andersson also played the keyboards for the new recordings of the ABBA Classics.
Andersson and Ulvaeus wanted to make a soundtrack that would stand on its own as an album. The Mamma Mia Soundtrack manages to capture the essence of the original recordings, while updating and polishing them for the film. Listen to the soundtrack and judge for yourself if you think they have managed to do so.
- Honey, Honey - Amanda Seyfried
- Money, Money, Money - Meryl Streep
- Mamma Mia - Meryl Streep
- Dancing Queen - Meryl Streep
- Our Last Summer - Colin Firth
- Lay All Your Love On Me - Dominic Cooper
- Super Trouper - Meryl Streep
- Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! - Amanda Seyfried
- The Name of the Game - Amanda Seyfried
- Voulez-Vous - The Cast Of Mamma Mia The Movie
- SOS - Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan
- Does Your Mother Know - Christine Baranski
- Slipping Through My Fingers - Meryl Streep
- The Winner Takes It All - Meryl Streep
- When All Is Said And Done - Pierce Brosnan
- Take a Chance on Me - Julie Walters
- I Have a Dream - Amanda Seyfried
- Thank You For The Music - Amanda Seyfried (An MP3 Extra)
An Energetic Musical that is More than Just a "Chick Flick"
While Mamma Mia is most likely to appeal to women, one shouldn't under-estimate the potential appeal of the music for children and men. Mamma Mia the musical has been described as the "ultimate feel-good show that has audiences coming back again and again to relive the thrill."
In a recent interview with Colin Firth, one of the potential dads in the film, admitted that he wasn't a fan of ABBA before starting to film Mamma Mia, but he soon became one. "...its very hard to resist the songs once they get going particularly when you see the sheer kind of energy and exuberance that is delivered in the film. Even if you roll your eyes at the first bar or two, I think you have to be a very churlish person to be resisting by the end of any of the songs."
This summer it's time to Take a chance on Mamma Mia!
More Resources
Dyer KA. 2008. Mamma Mia! The Movie. Squidoo.com
Dyer KA. 2008. Mamma Mia! - The Movie, The Music, The Musical, The Song. Squidoo.com
 |
