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Movies / On DVD / Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!

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Mamma Mia! (2008)

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Reviews Counted:169

Fresh:90

Rotten:79

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and a campy tone might not make you feel like "You Can Dance" the whole 90 minutes.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some sex-related comments.

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:04-07-2008

Synopsis: After its run as a West End hit in London, MAMMA MIA became a Broadway smash when it opened in New York back in 2001. With a story framed around the music of the Swedish pop band Abba, crowds loved... After its run as a West End hit in London, MAMMA MIA became a Broadway smash when it opened in New York back in 2001. With a story framed around the music of the Swedish pop band Abba, crowds loved its raucous, dance party vibe. Now it comes to the silver screen, with some truly delightful performances from the likes of Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. It is the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) a young woman living on a picturesque Greek island with her mother, Donna (Streep.) Together, Donna and Sophie run a ramshackle island inn, and they are in the midst of preparing for Sophie's wedding. As the wedding approaches, Sophie becomes troubled by the fact that she has never known her father. She was the result of one of her mother's summer flings, and her mother has never revealed her father's identity. When Sophie stumbles upon her mother's diary, she learns that there are three possible men who could be her dad. Without telling her mother, she invites all three to her wedding. When Harry (Colin Firth), Sam (Brosnan), and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) all arrive at the same time, Donna is of course shocked and overwhelmed by seeing her old lovers again after such a long time. She turns to her two best friends, Tanya (Christine Baranaki) and Rosie (Julia Walters), for their support, and vows to just get through the wedding and weekend. Meanwhile, Sophie spends time with each man, determined to learn the truth. Major hijinks and confusion ensues, all amidst the utterly romance scenery, and the rather irresistible, swelling love ballads. Streep has a lovely singing voice, and to watch her throw herself into this whimsical role is truly a delight. She looks like she is having a ball, and it is hard not to shimmy along with her. Baranski reliably delivers an over-the-top showstopper, and Brosnan's tender singing voice makes his character all the more touching. The film strives to be a jubilant celebration of mother/daughter relationships and the love between good friends, and no matter how cheesy some may find Abba, it is hard to resist its many charms. [More]

Starring: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried

Starring: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Screenwriter: Catherine Johnson
Producer: Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman
Composer: Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Reviews for Mamma Mia!

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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British director Phyllida Lloyd does a more than competent job of opening up the play with glorious and impossibly blue Aegean seascapes and rousing montages in bucolic settings in which the peasantry punctuate the songs like a drunken Greek chorus.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/18/08
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This isn't a movie. It's a vacation.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/18/08
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

When Brosnan opens his mouth, the wrong sounds come out. And yet they're among the few things in Mamma Mia! that feel anything close to right.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
07/18/08
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

Mamma Mia! delivers exactly what one can reasonably expect from it. It's a faithful adaptation of the stage play of the same name but, more importantly, it's a repository for ABBA songs.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
07/18/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

I can see how Mamma Mia! might be a fun stage musical. As a movie musical, it's a train wreck.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/18/08
Mike Russell
Mike Russell
Oregonian

Even minor elements like sound editing and makeup are botched, a sure sign of carelessness, or cluelessness. Early scenes show characters forgetting to lipsynch to their prerecorded songs.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment 1 Comment
07/18/08
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger

A fun, crowd-pleasing alternative for an audience whose idea of entertainment runs more to infectious '70s pop ditties, spandex, sex-starved women of a certain age and bare-chested hunks than watching a caped sadist torturing criminals.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment 2 Comments
07/18/08
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

The costumes look cheap, the choreography is clunky, and the cinematography's terrible - a real shame, given the gorgeous setting.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment 2 Comments
07/18/08
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

It's a one-of-a-kind cinematic wreck: I couldn't wait for it to end, and yet I'm strangely longing to see it again.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
07/18/08
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

Streep, Waters and Baranski basically ad-lib and keep just enough composure to pull through.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
07/18/08
Jason MacNeil
Jason MacNeil
Jam! Movies

he sheer exuberance of the production overcomes its difficulties, and the incongruous mix of nostalgia, James Bond crooning and the world's greatest actress bouncing up and down on a mattress is an undeniable kick. Mamma Mia! is major fun.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
07/18/08
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

Feels like a souvenir program: something to revive the feelings you had watching the stage performance.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/18/08
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

The year's most aggressive chick flick, with a score of irresistibly catchy ABBA tunes sweetening the dumb story like peaches in cottage cheese.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/18/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Reality in a musical? That alone makes it worth your open-eared attention.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
07/18/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

As my dignity tried to flee the premises, my heart wouldn't let me go.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/18/08
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

A party where everyone is so desperate to have a good time that it makes you miserable.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
07/18/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Meryl Streep scampers and writhes with something like abandon in her tomboyish overalls, her glowing tan and perfectly arranged "wild" blond hair indicating Donna's stanch independence.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/18/08
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Taken for what it is -- a fluffy, intergenerational farce as a frame for some seventies musical nostalgia -- Mamma Mia! just gets away with it.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
07/18/08
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

Everything's in twinkle overdrive. As with most stage-to-screen transfers, about a half-hour of material has been excised, and Mamma Mia! never had that much story to begin with.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/18/08
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

There are the wall-to-wall songs by ABBA, if you like that sort of thing. I don't, not much.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
07/18/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Mamma Mia!

February 04, 2009: Exclusive: Inside Pinewood/Shepperton - A Photo Tour
Every year, the BAFTA film awards present a trophy for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Introduced in 1978, the award recognises an organisation or a person's career... More...

January 21, 2009: Razzies Name 2008's Worst Movie Nominees
No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners will... More...

January 07, 2009: People's Choice Awards Winners Announced
The 35th annual People's Choice Awards were handed out on January 7, 2009. A complete list of film nominees, with winners in bold, follows below. More...

December 28, 2008: There's a neat free spirit versus family values message here, about a dad being no big deal when you can have three. Not to mention that family is more about who loves you, than whatever does or doesn't dangle between their legs. Opens in new window
More...

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