From left, Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep and Julie Walters in Mamma Mia! Watch the trailer: http://www.mammamiamovie.com
I was never a big fan of ABBA's music and never got to see the Broadway show of Mamma Mia! which is still running in NYC & around the world and making a fortune. The plot is based on a forgotten 1968 movie called Buona Sera Mrs Campbell starring Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, and others.
Mamma Mia! is the feelgood movie of the year. It's so entertaining that the audience applauded at the end, including me. It's charming, sentimental, and loaded with infectious silliness peppered with sight gags. You have to be cold blooded not to react to this buoyant confection about lost love and trying to rekindle it or finding a new one, all set to toe-tapping music. Besides being filmed on a Greek island you want to visit or to reside, the locations blend well with the plot which is presented in the above trailer.
What's most interesting and works the best is that the cast is not known for singing or dancing although Meryl Streep has sung in the theater and will surprise you with her pleasant voice. Most of the other non-singers are competently amusing as they put meaning into their lyrics. However Pierce Brosnan deserves an 'A' for effort with his, for a lack of a better word, singing. But he's too likable and once you get over your initial wincing on hearing his dulcet tones, you'll be rooting for him as he woos Streep. She's supported by Julie Walters who won us over years ago in Educating Rita, and whose klutziness almost steals the spotlight here from the rest of the able cast. We saw Christine Baranski, of TV's Cybill, on Broadway years ago in a drama/comedy and here she shows off her musical talents in a show stopping number on the beach. And watching Colin Firth, everyone's favorite Mr. Darcey, shine in a different type of role is another revelation and sings better than Brosnan. However I don't see Firth recording any albums soon.
The dance numbers have been criticized for their simplicity but they weren't filmed on a sound stage like in old musicals. The choreography is suited for the island setting and everyone, including the inhabitants, is used to full comic effect. Would a team of polished singers & dancers make this movie any better? I doubt it for this seems to be the reason why it wins you over. Watching these actors not known for their musical talents trying their hardest brings out the humor in the songs and situations. They keep surprising you with their hidden talents.
Does love triumph in the end? Well it's a musical and you get to know and like these characters so much, there's no way Mamma Mia! can end on a false note. How those ABBA songs are worked into the story is another delight. Stay for the closing credits for more fun.
Of course the original Mamma Mia loved it too.
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