Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!

Musical/ Comedy

3.5/5

 

Plot: Mamma Mia is the story about a young woman named Sophie (played by Big Love’s Amanda Seyfried) who discovers that she has three possible fathers a few days before she is getting married. She decides to invite all the possible daddies to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna (played by Meryl Streep). Of course, eventually chaos ensues. Donna discovers that all three of the men are at the wedding but they won’t say why, and Sophie is too busy trying to figure out which guy she should ask to walk her down the aisle. To aid in the telling of the story; all scenes are accompanied by classic ABBA songs redone by the cast.

 

              Acting: Amanda Seyfried is no longer the ditzy Karen Smith from Mean Girls. It is safe to say that she has blossomed into a fine actor. Not only that but she is a wonderful singer with a delicate voice with wide range. Her acting is freshingly powerful and convincing for such a bigger than life musical. Her fiancé in the movie played by Dominic Cooper is dashing and handsome. It is easy to see why Sophie loves his character so much in the movie. Pierce Brosnan (The old James Bond), Stellan Skarsgard (Orlando Blooms father in Pirates 3), and Colin Firth (Bridget Jones’ Diary) are all good actors in their roles as the three possible fathers. They all have different characteristics that bring a new dynamic to the plot; their singing though is nowhere near Grammy winning. Meryl Streep is amazing as always, and at the end of the movie you really just end up saying, “Well is their anything she can’t do?”

 

            Special Effects etc.: Not many special effects were noticed during the movie but tit did have some incredible panning and wide camera shots that helped all the dance numbers.

 

            Final Comments: Mamma Mia is a fun movie and is not to be taken to seriously, but it’s not going to win Academy Awards because there really isn’t all that much depth to it at all. It’s a good movie to watch with your friends on DVD. This movie is really meant for people who enjoy musicals and all the cheesiness that go along with them. Again, your enjoyment of the film will depend on your love or hatred of ABBA songs. In the end, a big plus of the movie is getting to see all the beautiful shots of Greece. The negative is Pierce Brosnan in a sparkly spandex outfit at the end of the film, his singing sounding about as good as a cat gargling oatmeal… it had to be said.