Movie Review: Mamma Mia-We’re All Dancing Queens.
**Update: I am now officially obsessed with this film. I haven’t been so into a movie since, oh, yeah ok it was Grease and I had to put on shows for my mom and dad. Being 35, I think my mother would put me into a “special home” if I made her come here so I could sing and dance along with the movie-therefore I’m not even going to ask.**
Since the tender age of 2, I’ve had a love for anything musical. I used to gather my dolls and stuffed animals around me, make my mom put a Disney record on the turntable and I would perform while standing on the coffee table for my “audience.”
Let’s get one thing straight-Charleston, West Virginia isn’t a mecca for the theatre and aside from taking ballet/tap from the ages of 2-almost 5, voice lessons at 10 and a horrid year of theatre as a sophomore in High School, my fantasies of being a great stage and screen actress have been limited to my semi-obsession with movies and musicals. I haven’t felt this little spirit inside for years, that is, until I watched Mamma Mia! The Movie.
Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Stellan Skarsgård, and newcomer Amanda Seyfried, the movie is loosely based on the songs of ABBA, telling the story of a girl trying to find her dad before her wedding. This is as much of the plot I will give away-no pun intended. What I will say- I adored Mamma Mia. Not since Grease have I watched and re-watched, (for clarification, no I didn’t see it in the theatre because no one would go with me to see a “musical”-but I had connections I wasn’t aware of and well, let’s just keep it at that), scenes just to sing along. A huge majority of so-called critics hated the film version, mainly because the actors are generally not known for musical performances, or have the greatest voices for this type of genre. Guess what? I don’t care, and neither have the millions of people who saw the movie, yes it’s a chick-flick, so mostly women. It’s a fun, care-free 90+ minutes of woman power. (References of Aprodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, should give you a hint). Movies don’t always have to be serious, prominent works of “art” in order to gain acceptance of an audience and I think the critics were proved wrong-the film, is the 60th highest grossing of all-time and it was just released in the US in July. You walk away feeling as if you can do anything-that you can be a Dancing Queen.
Though I was just a tot when ABBA reached their peak of popularity, I have always enjoyed their music, the geek that I am. Most of the songs are in the movie-you can see the list in the IMDB.com link I provided above. Meryl Streep steals the movie-proving she really can do anything. (Not since Out Of Africa have I enjoyed her, I did like The Devil Wears Prada, but let’s face it she was a witch, albeit brilliant). Although the movie, (and musical), is primarily aimed at those who were old enough during the ABBA years to understand the music, I think women, (and girls), of all ages will enjoy it. Sources around the Internet state a mid-December DVD release-and this is one I will be adding to my collection.
Favorite quote from the movie said by Meryl Streep’s character: “I won’t be muscled out by an ejaculation.”
Thats a great movie i also saw that movie.It had also got good rankings in imdb.
I saw this film 4 times and it never once failed to make me sing, laugh, cry and sob. It has all the makings of a cult classic.
Laura- I agree with you. I’ve become obsessed with watching it. (I can’t discuss the connection I had but let’s just say “screener” and no I didn’t download it). It’s the kind of movie that makes me, as a woman, feel empowered. My mom of course, thinks I’m nuts. She’ll call and say, “You’re watching it again, aren’t you.”
Seems like a great movie! I should check it out!
I heard that the Mamma Mia movie is not as nice as the original theater show. But I am still expecting for a entertaining movie in cinema
You’ve convinced me that I need to see this one!
Sherry: It’s a must. I don’t overly recommend movies often, but this, as my mom called it, is the “Grease” for my generation. What’s so funny -just like Grease, I now know almost every line to this movie. Ok- I’m totally strange.
Satellite: Even though you’re commenting for page rank, I’ll respond because you at least had something constructive to say- Yes, I did hear the film version isn’t as good as the stage version- that’s because moving one genre to another is complicated-same as books made into movies. I would LOVE to see the stage version.
my girlfriend forced me to see this movie with her *gg* but i must say, it wasnt bad at all
I haven’t seen it but my friend did and she loved it. I will have to see it!
Ok you’ve convinced me, I need to see it. Anything with Meryl Streep in it is good. Is it still in theaters? I’ll probably just wait to rent it.
with the hype of batman, this movie failed.
I will be honest with you, I watched it and i can’t believe i liked it… lol.
I’ve learned -you either don’t like it and think it’s hilarious only because Pierce Brosnan sings, or you love it because it’s a fun movie. I have one friend who said it was lame and myself and another both agreed it was the most fun we’d had watching a movie in a long time -and well, I have an odd taste in movies so this contributes lol
I heard that the Mamma Mia movie is not as nice as the original theater show. But I am still expecting for a entertaining movie in cinema
I still haven’t had the chance to see this yet! It looks like a fun movie to watch!
Thanks you very much for the review. It really sounds like a great movie. I wasn’t sure if it is good enough to watch it, but now i am pretty much
Haha, I haven’t met many people that like this movie as much as I do. Consider yourself awesome
My fiance went to see this with her mom, then pulled me along to see it. I thought it was really well put together and had great musicality and a decent story.
yeah just saw it myself, it was great :))
Great movie, we should all try to be dancing queens. Pole dancing is common even in suburbs now. What could be better than having a fun workout?
the movie is great, but the music in it is awesome
i love Abbas music…