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Mamma Mia! (2008)
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Movie review
From Time Out London
Throughout the screening of ‘Mamma Mia!’ I kept clocking the security guard in the corner. What was he thinking, I wondered, as Pierce Brosnan belted out a power-ballad version of Abba’s ‘SOS’? For Bond purists, it must be like seeing your dad in a dress. Equally, what might this beacon of masculinity think if he saw me smiling as this featherweight and often ridiculous musical drew to a finale that’s so sunny, so saccharine, that you’d be forgiven for thinking that all involved were high on happy pills?Presumably the guard was there to check that none of us took any snaps of Meryl Streep. There she was cavorting across the screen in dungarees with hair like straw, skipping through olive groves and singing ‘Dancing Queen’ with a Greek chorus in tow. One call to the taste police and the authorities would arrest her and withdraw all reels of this sickly sweet yet wildly – bafflingly – fun film. Once the credits – which feature the cast, dressed in pantomime ’70s gear, bashing out ‘Waterloo’ – had rolled, I asked the guard what he thought. ‘I’ve seen it four times,’ he said, with perfect timing. And you like it? Pause. ‘It has its moments.’
The story has all the symmetry and drive of a stage show. Twenty-year-old American Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to marry her fiancé, Sky (Dominic Cooper), in the grounds of a dilapidated hotel on a Greek island run by her tireless boho mother, Donna (Streep). Only she doesn’t know which of three of her mum’s former lovers is her dad. The solution? Invite them all.And so, unknown to Donna, businessman Sam (Brosnan), old hippy Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) and City gent Harry (Colin Firth) rock up to the sunniest of Greek islands.
They sing, they dance, they wonder who’s the father. It’s ‘Paternity: The Musical’. The story is pat, some voices are ropey, but Phyllida Lloyd succeeds in bringing this musical to the screen by indulging in not a whiff of ’70s nostalgia (until the credits), taking all the right things seriously – design, locations, casting, choreography – and rejecting elements that would have made it less forgivable: gloss, cynicism and irony.
Despite a flow of beach bods, there’s no worship of superficial beauty beyond the casting of the young leads, Seyfried and Cooper (and neither is a vapid youngster of ‘The OC’ sort). Lloyd plays it straight as a bat and finds a working balance between the fantasy of the musical numbers, the fairytale story and the down-to-earth presentation of the characters. The one concession she makes to Hollywood is that more of the leads are American than in the stage version – but she more than compensates by casting Julie Walters in a major role.
Just watch her sing and dance to ‘Take a Chance on Me’. There’s nothing slick about that. The men are a rum, awkward bunch. Skarsgård (age 57) looks like he’s having far too good a time being rubbed by young women during one number; Colin Firth doesn’t push the boat out and plays a bumbling Englishman; and, however hard he tries, Brosnan doesn’t remind you of Brando in ‘Streetcar…’ even when yelling ‘Donna!’ at Streep.
‘Mamma Mia!’ is not a man’s film. I mean this in the way that films about football hooligans who get loaded and smash the skulls of other hooligans are not women’s films. But I suspect that a fair few men (and not a few women) will find that this film appeals to an urge for wholesome trash and confounds their expectations. Against the odds, ‘Mamma Mia!’ is a summer movie that’s as camp as Christmas and as enjoyable as a pantomime. I suspect Streep will win an Oscar nomination; at 59, and still doing the splits, she’s game enough to deserve one.
Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 1977, July 10 -16, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- BigMeUp said...
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Posted on Oct 13 2008 18:05
caitlin:
>I keep posting because people keep referring to my posts by name!
>YOU are the one who said (and I quote): "FYI the singers are suppose 2 be terrible that is the point!!!!! It is too make it sound realistic!!!!" YOU said it, not me. Where you get the evidence to back up that (outrageous) claim is YOUR business, not mine. Just back it up, that's all.
>I mean that I wrote one thing, and you said I wrote something else. So obviously, you are seeing what you want to see, not what is really in front of you.
>Some people like M.Mia, some people don't. Well, alright then. So why are so frantically defending the film? I don't like M.Mia, why get on my bottom about it?
>Not all the people who like M.Mia are only seeing what they want to see. Just you. Because I wrote one thing, but you said I wrote something else. Other people like film, but all I have said about them is that "it takes all sorts to weave the rich tapestry of life"!
>Many, many people like all sorts of dreadful things. Many, many people like hunting and killing animals for "sport". Many, many people drink under the influence, tell lies, commit crimes... etc, etc. Just because "many, many people" like something doesn't mean that what they like is good, or tasteful. Think Adolf Hitler and Nazi party...
>In my original post, I gave my reasons for not liking the film and ended by saying, "It's too late for me, but save yourselves". Where did I suggest that anyone who liked the film had no taste??? - Report as inappropriate
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- Sanita Elvie said...
- Posted on Oct 13 2008 17:38 I fort teh film was great and ppl stop havin arguments... whoever said it was goood wins... i have a life i dnt go round reading other ppls comments.. i just scan for anyhting interesting.. anyway im not stsartin a fight im ending one... and the film was great fun.. although it was a bit wierd seeing pierce brosman singing SOS :P :O and veryy funni LOL..xx love ya .. and stop fightin ppl xx
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- caitlin said...
- Posted on Oct 13 2008 14:26 Big me up I have just finished reading the rest of your comment i think that it is horrible that you say that all those people who love mamma mia where only seeing what they want 2 c!!!!! Not everyone hate mamma mia you know!!! If they did it would not have been out for about thirteen weeks and it is still at no4 in the movie charts!!! People have their own taste most people on this website really enjoyed mamma mia! so stop acting like everyone who likes it has no taste so people like it some don't and anyone that wants to agree/disagree with me on that can
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- caitlin said...
- Posted on Oct 13 2008 13:35 Big me up if you really think that this film is terrible y do u keep posting comments on it??? Also how am I supposed to get claims from the director. Please!!! I live in the UK not america I am not exactly on speaking terms with the director. Also what do you mean when you say that you are not suprised that I liked this film??? This is just my opinion some people like Mamma Mia! some don't end of story
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- chris p said...
- Posted on Oct 12 2008 16:24 Best film ever, no violence. just fun all the way, have been to see it five times and am going again. My friends have been more times. loved all the singers, they wanted to do the singing themselves and they did a good job of it. i would like to see more films of this type that make you feel happy. All the stars were brilliant, it was lovely to hear Pierce Brosnan singing, he did well and so did Julie walters. this film was a breath of fresh air.
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- BigMeUp said...
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Posted on Oct 11 2008 11:47
caitlin: i am not surprised you enjoyed this film! when did i say that i thought the film was going to be rubbish? i went to see the film because people like you were writing excellent reviews of it. your comments indicate that you see what you want to see, and are unable to relate to reality on a mature, meaningful basis... furthermore, you make a bold assertion (ie, you suggest that the singers are meant to be terrible) but you produce nothing to support your claim. this not only flies in the face of common sense (if what you were asserting is true, then *all* the singers would be horrible, not just pierce brosnan and julie walters) but also you have produced nothing which supports your claim (say, a statement from the director). by all means disagree with me - that is your right in a democratic society - but don't make things up (ie, tell fibs) just to support your bias. also, if as barrie claims he believes, pierce brosnan's awful caterwauling is `appealing` well, it takes all sorts to weave the rich tapestry that is life.
glass half full: one leaves the cinema with a smile of joy. whether that joy is engendered by the experience of the film, or - as in my case - intense relief, i suppose you are right. - Report as inappropriate
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- k! said...
- Posted on Oct 10 2008 21:08 absolutley LOVED this film. and i mean LOVED. it was so full of fun and laughter. The only film i've EVER paid to see twice at the cinema. I went in thinking "meh" and came out as high as a kite singing every abba song under the sun. Before i saw this film i knew every abba song but they annoyed me...but now i love them once again because i've seen them in a new light! Meryl Streep deserves an oscar for this BIG TIME. If she doesnt get one then its quite obviously a bunch of miserable old men who voted. :)
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- Glass Half Full said...
- Posted on Oct 10 2008 19:29 Correction to typo in previous message: 'shoes' should read 'shows'. Sorry!
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- Glass Half Full said...
- Posted on Oct 10 2008 19:26 Mamma Mia might not be everyone's idea of a "Good" film but,there's no getting away from it, this film definitely provides the Feel Good factor. Can't understand how anyone could leave the cinema without a smile of their face - unless, of course, they really are devoid of the ability to simply enjoy themselves if only for a couple of hours max! I'm now searching for a cinema which shoes the Singalong version as I found it so hard to keep my mouth shut during the other version which is BRILLIANT.
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- Barrie said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 21:03 The thing that is so applealing about m/mia is that the main stars were just seen to be enjoying the whole experience so much. I think Streep is oscar material. Is no role beyond this super star, and as for Brosnan he knows full well he cant sing but that is the whole appeal of the movie. What a change to see a film with no F words and some poor sod not being blown apart. Wether the critcs and sad film producers like it or not m/mia is a multi million sucess.
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- caitlin said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 17:17 I totally disagree wif u!!!!! Mamma mia was not terrible. FYI the singers are suppose 2 be terrible that is the point!!!!! It is too make it sound realistic!!!! I f you thought mamma mia was going to be rubbish y did u go and see it in the first place!!!!
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- BigMeUp said...
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Posted on Oct 09 2008 17:11
Brenda: I stayed till the bitter end because the film had sapped me of the ability to walk! As I said before, just as I was about to lunge for the exit, Pierce Brosnan began singing, which temporarily knocked me out!
Besides, are you truly saying you've never sat through a film until the bitter end, hoping against hope that some brilliant manoeuvre by the director would somehow wrest movie victory from the jaws of defeat??
And, to be fair, I *did* say some bits of this film were ok. When the girl wasn't singing a sex song to her father, when pierce brosnan wasn't singing, when `sky` wasn't showing his bug-eyed ugly face, when `julie walters` wasn't singing `take a chance on me`, when SOS wasn't assaulting my ears, when homosexuals weren't snogging then yes, the film was do-able. - Report as inappropriate
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- caitlin said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 17:01 Hannah I have sent in loads of comments about mamma mia as well but I am stoppingnow there will be one less mamma mia fan on this website. I will still be checking the messages as often as i can 2 see wot people are saying about this fab movie. Byeeeeeeeee
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- Hannah said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 16:52 I have sent lots of messages in about Mamma Mia and i am still not stopping. I will only send in this message once. Haha LOL
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- natalie r said...
- Posted on Oct 09 2008 16:49 i also agree with every person who has posted a comment a ahve posted 6 comments or round about tht
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Cast & crew
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Cast: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski full cast
Genre(s): Musicals
Rated: PG
Duration: 109 mins
UK Release: Jul 11 2008
US Release: Jul 18 2008
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