Mamma Mia!

I think most of you will be upset with the following review, so if you loved this film, please stop reading! I love ABBA, I love musicals, but for some reason I did not love this. Don't get me wrong...I didn't think it was terrible. I just didn't think it was outstanding.

Let me start by discussing the actors. Meryl Streep is pretty incredible in everything that she does, and this is no exception. She's not the greatest singer in the world, but the personality she brings to her character makes up for that minor flaw. Personally, I believe that this was Pierce Brosnan's best acting ever...I actually believed the feeling he brought to the role. However, his voice was terrible...but it helped me realize that maybe I can be in a musical someday, because that's about how I sound when I sing while cleaning my kitchen. A friend of mine once told me that she does not know ANYONE who is good enough to try out for American Idol, but I firmly believe that if Brosnan is good enough to sing in a musical, then so am I! Colin Firth is adorable, as usual. Amanda Seyfried had probably the best voice of the entire cast, and definitely captured the essence and maturity level of a 20 year old...but I don't know if that was good acting or just being herself. Her character in Big Love is a serious and dramatic teenager who is forced to grow up before her time, while Sophie is a flirty and fun young thing who acts younger than her actual age. At first I could not place Julie Walters and then...bam!...I realized that's Ron's mom in all the HP movies!And I was originally confused in watching the previews as to why they would cast a nobody like Stellan Skarsgard next to Brosnan and Firth...but then, while watching the film, I realized that that he is Bootstrap Bill from the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. And in doing a little research, I discovered that the Swedish actor is a film veteran and has been on the screen more often than pretty much all of the other actors in this film (including Streep). Overall, I felt the actors were able to portray their characters in a fun and boisterous way, but that the singing was terrible.

Now, I want to briefly discuss the plot and presentation of the film. I think it is ingenious to attempt to take albums from well known artists and create a cohesive film (or play) based on their music. Across the Universe is a perfect example of how this can be beautifully done...I was shocked at how well the songs fit together, and how well the plot flowed from each song. However, Mamma Mia! was not as cohesive and was kind of all over the place. It was very fast paced and didn't allow you to breath for even a minute (if you were singing along as I was...). I know I should not compare these two films, because Across the Universe was obviously written and created for the big screen, while Mamma Mia! was written for the stage and was meant to be campy and cheesy (and it was very successful...this is one of the corniest movies ever!). This was a fun and funny film, and although the plot did not flow and the singing was atrocious, it was still an entertaining film. However, I am inclined to give it only 3 pigs because I felt it was merely average when compared to other musical plays adapted to film (think Chicago, Hairspray, Grease, Phantom of the Opera, etc).