8/13/08

Supertrouper Mamma Mia!


We went to see Mamma Mia Saturday night and I absolutely loved it, the hubster enjoyed it but it is most definitely a chick-flick.

I was lucky enough to see the original stage production in the West End of London many years ago and I have to say the movie brings the show to life wonderfully. In a theatre the sets are obviously very limited, but the location and sets for the movie were sumptuious and stunning. I have no doubt the Greek Islands will have a surge in tourists as a result.

It has an all-star cast, but for me the best performance was put in by Meryl Streep as Donna the 'free-spirited' mum. Not only can Meryl sing, but she looks great and as usual acts her socks off to instill Donna with both emotional depth and joie de vivre in equal measure. Pierce Brosnan is the lead man and let me say here Pierce used to be my Brad Pitt (the hubster already knows this!), so I am big fan. But oh deary me, singing is definitely not his forte! He and the predictably delicious Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard are all very good as Donna's past lovers and the mystery dad.

Donna's two bestfriends are played by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, who between them have the funniest lines and scenes. The younger members of the cast are very good too, but are definitely outshone by their acting superiors - but then not many can compete with Meryl and win! However Donna's daughter Sophie is played by a star in the making - Amanda Seyfried.

The hubster commented that what he liked about it, not generally being a musicals fan, was the songs continued the storyline in the same way as they did in Grease. So instead of feeling like the movie stopped for the musical number, it all flowed together seamlessly.

And what great music, I was singing along throughout the whole movie and unfortunately for the hubster, so were a large tuneless group behind him! Meryl did such a good job on The Winner Takes It All and the setting was so stunning, I found myself filling up!

This movie totally exceeded my high expectations, infact I might be going again with some of the teachers, as it is a wonderful 'girl's night out' movie. If you enjoy Abba's music and love a rom-com chick-flick, then do not miss this wonderful movie.

Oh and whatever you do - DO NOT LEAVE WHEN THE CREDITS START ROLLING OR MISS ALL THE FUN!

9 comments:

Amanda said...

You're right about the credits. I was standing up jiggling about and singing along to all the songs. I only wished we had been in a bigger cinema with a bigger crowd who might have joined in the party. The ending was wonderful when we saw it in the West End, with the whole audience dancing in the aisles and singing along.

Anonymous said...

It sure sounds wonderful. Perhaps, the Diva and I will go see it this weekend. Thanks for the review.~~Dee

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Sarah, my sister and I saw this two weeks ago and loved it. And the whole thing about Brosnan's singing - I loved that it was bad because he sounded like most people do who sing along with ABBA songs! I liked the scruffy looking PB :~) This movie was so much better than I expected!

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

So glad you enjoyed it.

Victoria x

Daryl said...

Another thumbs up, eh, good to know. A friend here saw it and was a little disappointed .. the NY reviewers hated it ... but I much prefer reviews of friends and I have already told Husband we must see this ... tho I suspect it wont be til its on NetFlix

:-Daryl

Anonymous said...

I took my Mam to see this in the Westend some years ago and enjoyed it more than I thought I would, so based on your review I guess it will be on my to do list.

Joyce's Journey said...

What a great review! You did an excellent job! I, too, loved the movie. I saw the play on Broadway last summer and loved it there. The movie definitely made it come to life. Meryl Streep was superb - everyone did a great job. Your review was so descriptive, I now want to go see it again!!

Anonymous said...

this is one of the few plays i've actually seen, which ended up being great... it's funny to think of ol' Pierce taking a stab at singing though, yeeesh

Mmm said...

Oh thx for that tip about the credits. I missed the credits in Iron Man and should have stayed! I am deciding whether to go or not--such a chick flick but I do so love ABBA and it would be fun to hear all those songs again