Mamma Mia! is†the perfect pick-me-up – especially for moviegoers who found The Dark Knight a little too dark. If you don’t mind musicals, or ABBA for that matter, Mamma Mia!, based on the hit Broadway play, is a must-see this summer.
Set on a beautiful Greek island, Mamma Mia! focuses on Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who is about to get married. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but unfortunately, Sophie doesn’t know who her father is. After a little snooping in her mother’s old diary, she finds out she has not one, but three possible men who could be her father. She then invites them all to the wedding where chaos -†and much singing and dancing – ensues.
The three potential fathers are Harry (Colin Firth), Sam (Pierce Brosnan) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard). Harry, aka Harry Headbanger, used to be involved in the punk scene. He is now a British banker with absolutely no spontaneity. Sam, who left Sophie’s mother to marry his fiance, is an architect, now divorced. And Bill, well, he’s still pretty much the same: a "lone wolf" ready for adventure. All three, over the course of one summer, met Sophie’s mother, fell in love and well, you know. Now all Sophie has to do is decide which one is her father before the wedding – a daunting task once all three "realize" their paternity and offer to escort her down the aisle.
Meryl Streep stars as Sophie’s mother Donna. She runs the island’s hotel, which is slowly falling apart. And, once she rediscovers her ex-lovers, she starts falling apart. Her best friends, Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) provide comic relief.
"Does Your Mother Know," "Dancing Queen," and "Take a Chance on Me" are three songs where these women’s antics dominate, practically making the audience roll with laughter. Other songs featured include the hits "Money, Money, Money," "SOS," and "The Winner Takes It All."
Mamma Mia! maintains the Broadway feel with a chorus line composed of the Greek isle’s villagers and in one scene the guests at Sophie’s bachelorette party. "Lay All Your Love On Me" plays during what at first appears to be a sexy beach scene between Sophie and her fiance Sky (Dominic Cooper). But when the handsome Greek villager chorus pops out of the surf in goggles and flippers, the scene instantly becomes hilarious. Over-the-top acting only enhances the theatrical feeling. It doesn’t have a typical movie feel; it’s as if the viewer is watching the hit Broadway musical.
But the film has a serious side as well. It hints at taking risks and doing what makes you happy, even if it involves upsetting others or disrupting your current lifestyle. In the end, Sophie, as well as her mother and three potential dads, have choices regarding who they are and what they really want to be.
While not of the highest movie quality (no Best Picture nomination here), Mamma Mia! is one of the funniest films released in a long time – without relying on crude humor. Sure, Pierce Brosnan can’t sing; and every time he starts, the audience giggles. And yeah, Streep looks really old, but walking out of the theater, one can’t stop grinning and humming snatches of those classic ABBA songs. And that’s what makes it totally worth it.
