Mamma Mia

Mamma Mia!

All Out Fun
Shelli Carlisle

As a teenager in the 70s, the music of ABBA was familiar to me, but it wasn’t my thing. So, it never garnered my attention. My two sisters and I have what we call a ‘sister day,’ which usually consists of relaxing, catching-up, sharing, laughing and crying in a 24-hour period. On our latest sister day we saw Mamma Mia. It wouldn’t have been my pick, but I was game.

We went to a local theater, bought our tickets, popcorn and bottled water, found the perfect seats and settled in. While waiting for the movie to start, we chit chatted about, well…sister stuff. We silenced our cell phones; well I thought mine was silenced. Reality hit when my phone started ringing during a quiet moment. I know shoo!

Laugh and Cry

When the film started it seemed a little cheesy, with the singing and all. But, as it progressed it drew me into a world of beauty, fun, laughter and tears. All the actors played their rolls with such sincerity; I felt like part of the family.
Perfect Casting, Perfect Flick

Meryl Streep and her two sidekick girlfriends, played by Christine Branski and Julie Walters, were outrageous. Pierce Brosnan and his two cohorts, Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth, were wonderfully uninformed. And, of course the lovely young couple, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, is… lovely. Even the wacky townsfolk, who always seem to be in on everything are endearing.

It’s the classic I am getting married, which one of these three guys is my father so he can walk me down the aisle story with a beautiful setting on an romantic Greek island. Add Abba’s familiar tunes and you have a great movie.

Great Girls Day Date

This is the perfect film for best girlfriends or sisters or moms and daughters to see together. We laughed hysterically, shed a couple of tears and felt really blessed to be sisters. The only drawback, it’s been a week now and ABBA is still swimming around in my head, but you know what, Abba does sound a lot better to me now.

Awesome Musical
Cozette Cravens

Critical of Critic

I recently heard a critic pan this movie. It was very obvious that he never saw, or doesn’t like any musicals such as ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘King and I,’ all classics. The critic said there wasn’t a story line behind this movie, boy was he wrong.

This movie is awesome as musical comedy’s go. The story is simple and addng a few ABBA songs make it great. Plus, the location shots of the Greek island were breath taking.

The Gist

A 20-year-old girl and her mother live on a Greek island. The girl is going to be married in a couple of days and she wants her father to give her away. Not knowing who her father is, she finds her mother’s diary from years past and finds out her father is one of three men. So she writes all three, inviting them to come to her wedding. This is where all the fun begins, because her mother doesn’t know she invited these three men. I won’t give the ending away because it has a couple of twists, but it is good!

Talented Cast

Amanda Seyfried plays Sophie the daughter and has a nice voice for singing. Meryl Streep plays the mother and does a great job showing her emotions when singing.

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard play the three fathers and their singing wasn’t bad; as actors not used to singing goes. You have to give them credit for getting in there and doing it. I think it was great and I’d listen to them again, in fact I plan on seeing the movie two more times, because it is an up-lifting experience. I felt good when I left the theater. One could say this is a feel good chick flick.

In years past when big studios had movie stars under contract many could not sing, dance or even act, but they were given some lessons and then made the movie. It wasn’t so bad. I rather enjoyed those days because they didn’t have all the technology to screw their voices around to not sound like them.

A Fan for Life

A little tweaking goes a long way. I enjoyed it so much I emailed Tom Hanks and said it was a great movie and more musical comedies ought to be made. I prefer them over some of the movies that are being made today. Definitely a feel good movie and judging by the audience leaving the theater they thought so as well.

Location, Location, Location
Tom Cravens

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) invites three men to her wedding bringing them back into her mother’s, Donna (Meryl Streep), life after 20 years. They are all successful in their own ways, Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) a writer of true life adventure books, Harry (Colin Firth) a banker in England, and Sam (Pierce Brosnan) an American business man.
The Dynamos

For the wedding, Sophie’s two best friends, Lisa (Rachel McDowall) and Ali (Ashley Lilley) come to help the bride. Sophie has to share her secret with them. Also for the wedding, Donna’s two best friends Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) come, and the three of them are like giddy school girls. It is obvious why their girl group, so many years ago was known as Donna and the Dynamos. The secrets multiply as Sophie talks with the men together and individually, and they each get to know Donna all over again.
Lauds for the Musical

The Musical is back, and what a beginning. I can only hope that other producers will pick up the slack and continue with the genre. Other critics may not remember the big musical productions of the 40’s, or the fun musicals of the 50’s, but this certainly continues in their persona.

The Location

Beautifully filmed in the Greek Isles with the simple plot of a wedding, it showcases the songs of ABBA spectacularly. A Greek community comes together for a wedding, singing and dancing their own problems and triumphs. Julie Walters as Rosie steals the show when she sings ‘Take a Chance on Me’ to Bill (Stellan Skarsgard). This is a fun movie for anyone who wants a lift in life.

Cast and Credits

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd
Genres: Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

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