Review: 'Mamma Mia!'
Posted on: Saturday, 19 July 2008, 00:00 CDT
By Garrett Conti
The musical "Mamma Mia!" initially hit stages overseas in 1999 before making its premiere in the United States. More than 30 million customers and billions of dollars later, the jukebox musical, based on the music of Swedish pop group ABBA, has culminated into a melodious blast on the silver screen.
It's a seamless transition, in fact, and a lot of the credit goes to a superb cast that includes the versatile Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried. Those performances team with the beautiful locale of Greece and a lighthearted script that gives viewers plenty of entertaining fun during a summer of superheroes.
The story follows Sophie (Seyfried) in the days leading up to her wedding. She doesn't know who her father is, but when she finds her mother's diary, she certainly has a field from which to choose. Sophie figures she was conceived around the same time her mother -- Donna (Streep) -- had had separate flings with Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), Sam (Brosnan) and Harry (Firth). So, she invites all three to her wedding.
When Bill, Sam and Harry show up on the scene, it leaves Donna breathless with only her two best friends -- Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tonya (Baranski) -- to lean on. As the wedding day gets closer, a new tight-knit family humorously emerges on the way to an event that no one will soon forget.
The accomplished Streep steals the show here, proving that she can belt out the music better than anyone could have expected.
Brosnan, on the other hand, struggles somewhat with the tunes. His vocal style would best be described as a bit south of Joe Cocker. The rest of the cast, including the adorable group of Greek locals who make up the chorus, are up to the challenge of covering the songs of the Swedish supergroup.
An additional nod goes to director Phyllida Lloyd, making her big- screen debut behind the camera. She makes good use of the tools around her, and, in the process, delivers a ton of tuneful fun in a film that surely will be an attraction to women of all ages.
In wide release
Source: Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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