Mamma Mia! The Movie (Widescreen)

Tags: Mamma, movie, Widescreen

THE STORY OF A BRIDE-TO-BE TRYING TO FIND HER REAL FATHER FROM THREE POSSIBLE CANDIDATES, TOLD USING SONGS BY THE POPULAR ’70S GROUP ABBA. BASED ON THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL.The transported sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing “Dancing sovereign” is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built nearly the songs of the hugely well loved pop group ABBA. The plot sets in shift when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a epistle to three men, inviting them to her wedding–because with reading her mother’s diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island everywhere Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she’d laid up your sleeve are coming back to life. But let’s face it, the plot is not the point–it’s a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep; every production number hammers its energy into your eyeballs. Which is too terrible, because Mamma Mia! is a rarity: A middle-aged like tale. The kids start things off, but the tale is really about Streep and the three guys (former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard), as well as Donna’s best friends (Christine Baranski, best known from the TV show Cybill, and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls). It’s a romantic comedy aimed at the people who were nearly when all these songs were new, and that’s an age group Hollywood largely ignores. For that lonely, Mamma Mia! deserves to find an audience. –Bret Fetzer

Stills from Mamma Mia! (Click for larger image)