What happened to James Bond?? I honestly wanted to be a "Dancing Queen" and dance right out of the theatre. Mamma Mia! is one of the most awkward, poorly acted and just laughably bad musicals to date.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Tomatometer
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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: Musical & Performing Arts
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
Reviews for Mamma Mia!
[N]one of the nonsensicalness would matter if the movie would let me get caught up in it, but that hardly happened, much as I wished it would...
Perhaps your enjoyment will depend on how much you like the songs (I’m not a huge ABBA fan), but the great thing about this film is its joyousness.
Moving and fun and scenic and ecstatic, and we cried too. I hope you take a chance take a take a chance chance on Mamma Mia even if you think you won't like it.
Stage director Phyllida Lloyd should kneel and kiss the feet of her cast who persist in entertaining us despite every roadblock she throws in their way.
When singing S.O.S. I couldn't decide if he [Pierce Brosnan] was begging to be rescued from the song or the movie. Personally--I would have chosen the movie.
The best things about the film are that the ingenue is a babe, it is 30 minutes than "Sex and the City" and no one sings "Fernando." Of course, I could say the same things about "Wanted" and that film at least had better choreography.
Mostly successful [in creating fun], but along the way its strengths struggled mightily against its weaknesses.
So infectiously bubbly overall that it's difficult to carp about voice talent and uneven pacing.
Lloyd's film has no shape or tone; it swings wildly from sunny, haphazard scenes that play like outtakes, to higher-pitched, shrieking, hysterical scenes.
Mamma Mia! lacks even one big fantastic set piece; visually, each musical number is chopped up into tiny little bits.
Camp, bawdy and with a perky innocence, it is Sex and the City meets High School Musical.
The adaptation of the long-running stage hit is a crowd-pleasing gusher of escapism, not the least of which is respite from summertime teen action fare.
You can have a perfectly nice time watching this spirited adaptation of the popular stage musical and, once the hangover wears off, acknowledge just how bad it is.
Many lighthearted musicals have frilly plots, but the story cobbled together for Mamma Mia! is particularly superficial and imbecilic.
Would be more persuasive if you felt any real chemistry between Streep and Brosnan. But how could you? They've been singing ABBA songs at each other for two hours.
It's a pretty enjoyable, big-screen songfest that should appeal to both the show's fans as well as aficionados of the Swedish pop group that supplied its tunes.
Campy theatrics and Busby Berkeley choreography set on a ridiculously breathtaking island paradise -- what's not to love?
You may find that the movie version of Mamma Mia! brings out your inner Simon Cowell.
Latest News for Mamma Mia!
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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. ![]()
More...
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