MAMMA MIA! Delights

By Priscilla Beth Baker
September 25, 2008

Rated PG-13
Running time:  1 hour, 48 minutes
Coming soon to DVD
Starring:  Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski and Dominic Cooper

How can you pay homage to groovy ABBA tunes without resorting to the cheesy musical review that no one younger than 30 will pay any attention to?  Ask producer Judy Craymer because she's laughing all the way to the bank, as are director Phyllida Lloyd and book-writer Catherine Johnson. 

The triumvirate behind the hit stage show of the same title, which opened at London's Prince Edward Theater in 1999, brought it to cinematic life this past summer where it has grossed close to $150 million at the box office and over $2 billion, and counting, on Broadway.

This, in addition to the dozens of stage productions around the globe, has ensured long-term financial stability for these artists as well as introduced a whole new generation of people to the genius of ABBA's  Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (the two 'Bs' in ABBA for those of you not in the know).  These songs endure for a reason and Mamma Mia! gives us a vehicle to reminisce, even revel, in their durability. 

Set in glorious Greece,--the Greek tourism board should thank the film for its free two-hour commercial promoting the country's enchanting beauty--the film opens with our ingénue Sophie (played beautifully and convincingly by Amanda Seyfried) overzealously greeting her bridesmaids at the dock. 

Why so overzealous?  Sophie's mother Donna (Meryl Streep) has never told her daughter who her father is but Sophie has recently discovered her mother's twenty-year-old diary and finds that her father may be one of three suitors.

Sophie confides that she has secretly invited all three men to the wedding so that her father can give her away.  All the men, of course, predictably arrive and are corralled by Sophie into the goat barn where Donna stumbles upon them.  Need I say that classic Shakespearean mayhem ensues? 

Streep's Donna is a no-nonsense, no-regrets woman who stands by her choices in life, devoid of sadness or self-pity.  The formidable Streep embraces her character, as she always does, by completely becoming Donna. 

Romping in oversized overalls for the majority of the film, Streep could not be having more fun and it's entirely contagious.  When her two former back-up singers arrive (played hilariously by Julie Walters and Christine Baranski), the emotional core of the movie is established. 

These women have a palpable bond--they laugh, they cajole, they love sex--but marriage is not the be-all end-all for any of them.  It is especially refreshing to see Baranski's character, Tanya, being pursued by a hot young islander in the hilarious beach number "Does Your Mother Know?"

Love is not just for the young, the film seems to say, and these women are entirely in control of their own destinies rather than depending on men to shape their identities. 

So what of the potential dads?  We have Harry (Colin Firth), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), and Sam (Pierce Brosnan).

Firth is in full Bridget Jones mode here, though he's never given the chance to really do anything; the Bill character, and Skarsgard himself, both seem to be trying to figure out what they are doing on this island in the first place; and Brosnan, though gorgeous, cannot sing his way out of a paper bag.

His rendition of "S.O.S." is very possibly one of the most painful two-and-half minutes in musical cinematic history; "butchered" is a kind word.  But, Brosnan's affable charm carries him far in this film and it's no mystery which suitor we are supposed to be rooting for. 

(I have to add that perhaps I am alone in my "gorgeous" estimation of Brosnan because in a packed Lyric Theater when Streep rips his shirt off to bare his hairy muscular chest, there was a collective, and shatteringly loud, "Ew!!!!" from the audience).     

But frankly, the men in this film are merely an afterthought.  This is, to be sure, a "chick flick," though not to say a film only women will enjoy.  It is merely about women and the importance of female relationships in our lives.  Think Sex and the City without the fancy clothes, high heels and whining, and add in a few jazz squares and spontaneous show tunes and there you have it.

When you weave a story together after all the music and lyrics have been penned (in this case way after), you are bound to have some inconsistencies and forced moments. However, book-writer Catherine Johnson has done an admirable job of making those moments few and far between. 

Of particular note is the tear-jerker "Slipping Through My Fingers," as Donna helps her daughter get ready for her wedding day and "I Don't Wanna Talk," where, again, Streep shows us why she has so many Oscars on her mantle. 

The last 20 minutes spiral into ridiculousness in the spirit of the Cole Porteresque tidy- ending musicals of the '30s and '40s where all is made right with the world of love. 

But, we can forgive the schmaltz and happily hum "Mama Mia" and "Dancing Queen" as we leave the theater, perhaps not changed by our theater-going experience, but certainly happier for it.