Rating of
3/4
*Sarah* - wrote on 12/29/08
20 year old Sophie (Seyfried) is preparing to marry her boyfriend Sky (Cooper) at her mother's hotel on an island in Greece. She seemingly has it all; a carefree life, loving boyfriend and happy friends but one thing has been missing all her life; a father.
I have to admit that when we deciided to see Mama Mia!, my family and I, I wasn't sure what I would make of it at all. I know Abba songs like the back of my hand, never saw the musical but was sure I might dance a long at some stage. For sure I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Mama Mia has a certain charm to it that you can't ignore and I'm sure it will be one of the biggest hits of the summer.
The appeal of Mama Mia! is set in the songs and the brilliant cast. All the songs tell sophie's story well and you begin to like the characters a lot, but most likely Meryl Streep's character Donna. Donna is unaware of her daughter's actual father, any of the 3 leading men we see in the film; Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård. All three do sing in the film and at times it can be quite funny. I'm sure not everyone wants to see the last James Bond actor sing his heart out to SOS or Stellen Skarsgard sing Take a Chance on Me, but really folks forget all that and just enjoy a fabulous film. I know Brosnan took a year of singing lessons and doesn't sound bad at all. Not so sure about the paring of Streep and Brosnan but that was only a minor flaw.
The set for Mama Mia, that being in the Greek Islands looks lovly on screen and some great shots of the actual island on helicopter which really gives you that "summer feeling" and actually made me forgets seriously analysing this film, if you see what I mean. Naturally the cheography is brilliant, most notably with Dancing Queen which, If I had the chance, I would have danced near my seat. Meryl streep can certianlydance around, as can Julie Walters both in their late 50's.
Now for the acting. To be honest I think the acting fitted well to the story. I felt most of the actors played a more laid back approach, as indeed this is not a serious film and shouldn't be taken as to be. JUlie Walters was brilliant to watch and lights up every scene she's in, including her hilarious rendition of "Take a Chance on Me." Colin Firth doesn't really do an awful lot but does sing, which wasn't that bad. Stellen Skarsgard, as most of the cast aren't that bad either.
The script is a plain and simple story but very funny and very well done indeed. I;, sure a lot of it was sidreted at die hard Abba fans but I certainly enjoyed it a lot. What's great is that the film is very funny and can divert your attention away from any pretenious bits that might annoy you, as not everything is going to break into song.
I can't recomend this enough. If there's one film that you should see it's Mama Mia! Can't tell you how much fun I had watching this.
