Mamma Mia! the musical has taken millions in theatres around the world, and now takes on a star-studded cast in this, the movie version of the ABBA-inspired musical. Broadway adaptations have been big over the past few years - Chicago, The Producers and Hairspray have all made the leap from wooden boards to silver screen. But will this adaptation follow its lauded predecessors?
Mamma Mia! is the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a young lady living on a Greek Island with her mother (Meryl Streep). She is about to marry the man of her dreams, but something is missing - her father. She ascertains from her mother’s diaries that it could be one of three men; adventurer Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), the suave Sam (Pierce Brosnan) or the uptight Harry (Colin Firth). So she invites them to her wedding. Keeping it secret from them & her mother, she hopes that her true father will be obvious to her once she meets the men, but their arrival only serves to complicates things further. The songs of ABBA serve to describe the situations the characters are going through.
The plot is a classic farce-type situation, lots of hiding and misunderstood conversations. It’s all very exotic and escapist - the island where they film is as beautiful as the young tanned backing singers on the musical numbers. In fact, a big winning point for Mamma Mia! is that it’s so much darned fun. The music of obviously familiar & catchy, and the interwoven plot keeps you hooked for the most part.
The comedy is brought shining through thanks to inspired casting for the most part. Brosnan & Firth are basically stereotypes of their more famous roles - a feminised Mr. Darcy & ‘Bond lite’. Seyfried is good as the innocent Sophie, stumbling from one near-catastrophe to another, but it’s Julie Walters and Christine Baranski who steal the show. As Streep’s best friends from childhood, they provide some of the best scenes (particularly Baranski’s rendition of Does Your Mother Know?).
The sad part is the film is let down by two crucial factors. Firstly, the muddled ending, solving all the film’s issues in a couple of sentences. Then there’s Streep. Cinematic blasphemy, yes, but whilst her standard of acting is high, she simply can’t cope musically. Her voice isn’t brilliant, but she would’ve scraped through had it not been for the fact that she takes the numbers far too seriously. Brosnan is no Sinatra, but there’s cheekiness to his performance that’s missing with Streep.
Fans of big, camp musicals will be enthralled, and indeed anyone watching would be hard-pressed not to be tapping their toes by the credits. Not a classic, but lots great music, and lots of fun.
Mamma Mia! hits cinemas July 11. Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack is available from July 7.
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