Movie review: "Mamma Mia"

I am a huge ABBA fan. I have most of their music, and know almost all of their lyrics, although I was never part of the disco scene in the 1970s during their heyday. We had enjoyed the stage musical of "Mamma Mia" when it came out. People were dancing in the aisles, because for some reason, the "live" music moved the audience more than one would expect.

So we finally got out to see "Mamma Mia" in the film version. I will sum up pros and cons in bullet format because I'm tired.

Pros:

• ABBA's music, which made them one of the best-selling artists of all time (~400 million units worldwide, with ~3 million per year today)
• The setting of the Skopelos group of islands in Greece, which is beautiful
• The cast of Meryl Streep, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski as the three girlfriends and Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Stellan Skarsgård as the three potential fathers of Streep's character's daughter
• The interesting twists in the lyrics of the songs, reversing genders for example, to fit the plot
• Cameo appearances by ABBA's male members Benny Andersson (the old fisherman playing the upright piano on the boat as the townswomen dance to "Dancing Queen" on the marina dock) and Björn Ulvaeus (one of the Greek gods looking down on the cast performing reprises of the songs as the credits roll at the end)
• The backing cast of the hotel staff (mostly Greek actors), who lent the film an air of ethnic authenticity and "family" which wasn't readily apparent in the stage musical
• The chemistry of Streep, Walters and Baranski, which is a scream to watch. They are totally believable as a wild disco-era girl band.
• Streep does VERY well as the lead role. Her voice is well-suited to ABBA's music, and she sings with a smooth mezzo-soprano that is very listenable. I gained new appreciation for her talent as an actress.
• Hearing ABBA songs interpreted in a folksy Greek style. For example, the brass ensemble in the church at the end plays "Knowing Me, Knowing You" as the processional. I laughed out loud. It was so interesting to hear such familiar tunes interpreted in such unusual ways.
  

Cons:

• Remember how "Dilbert" (a three-frame comic strip) didn't do well as a half-hour television show? Sometimes something that works well in one medium doesn't work as well in another. In "Mamma Mia," the format of the musical on stage worked because each plot point was an excuse for an ABBA song. One or more characters stepped forward and sang, the rest faded into the background, and it worked well. In film, I would argue, it's more difficult to do that, and some of the characters simply seemed to hang around in the background with not much to do. The camera's attention is not as "focuseable" as a live audience's attention at a stage show, and so unless you crop the camera shot to exclude extraneous characters, there's more distraction from the scene's lead singer. That said, the forced inclusion of the background characters in the film did help to make it more like a group of people who knew each other well.
• Pierce Brosnan's voice is ill-suited for singing. He can carry a tune, and he gets massive points for trying, but it's unfortunate that Colin Firth didn't get the lead male role instead, because Colin's voice is beautiful, while Pierce's is not. Notice that Stellan Skarsgård does not sing at all (I believe), because his voice is gravelly, reminiscent of Colm Meaney's voice. Nevertheless, all of the cast did well with their singing roles.
  
• Amanda Seyfried as "Sophie," the daughter of Donna (Meryl Streep). I haven't seen her before (her first big role was "Mean Girls" in 2004). The character of Sophie is mildly irritating in the stage musical, because her "it's all about me and my wedding" mindset leads her to invite three of her mother's ex-boyfriends (one of whom may be her father, but she knows not which one) to her wedding, causing farcical chaos, which is the point of the play. But Seyfried's portrayal of Sophie took the character to new heights of irritation, for me. I'm not sure why. She sings very well. She's expressive and pretty to look at. But I found her irritating, all the same. I'm not sure who I would recommend for the role instead of Seyfried, though. Someone with a more mature presence, perhaps, even though the role is that of a 20-year-old. Someone with a richer, fuller voice, not as "thin" as Seyfried's.
  

Overall, "Mamma Mia" is a fun flick. I'm glad I saw it in the theatre. It seems to be popular - most of the seats were filled, which is unusual for our little town.

4 out of 5 stars. Check it out.