Mamma Mia!

First of all, I have to say that it was lovely to be in a cinema at all. It had been two years since I had set foot in one (to see Casino Royale). The last occasion had been a bit of a disaster as it was the first time I'd left B. with relatives and she'd spent most of the time screaming, so the film had been punctuated with the buzzing of panicky phone calls . This time though, knowing that she was having a very exciting day with daddy, I could sit back and relax.

That day, I probably would have enjoyed any film (well, apart from Van Helsing or While you were Sleeping, but maybe that's just me). Mamma Mia is a feel-good film, set in a gorgeous location, and carried along by an amazingly energetic, passionate and true performance by Meryl Streep, who gives it her all and carries the whole film. An unsympathetic view would be that this film is a series of modified ABBA songs glued together by what can loosely be termed a story. These are actually both my views, and I don't think that they're conflicting at all!

Meryl Streep is just wonderful, and who knew that she could sing so well? Her talents are obviously endless. Her character, Donna, is a strong, stubborn and likeable Amercian hotel owner who has spent most of her life living amongst the locals on a beautiful Greek island. She has a daughter, Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried) who's about to be married. But before she ties the knot she'd really love to find out who her father is, so she looks in her mother's old diary and finds out that there are in fact, three possibilities. And these possibilities come in the form of Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard.

Well, Donna's never known who the father is either, and when all three of these middle-aged charmers 'mysteriously' turn up in time for the wedding, she is flabbergasted to find her past come flooding back to her. She is helped through this rather confusing time by best pals Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.

What makes this a feel-good film are the lovely, fun friendships between Sophie and her friends and the parallel friendship between the older women. Both trios are clearly there for each other, and rather partial to getting drunk, having a good time and talking about sex! The music is great, although not all the singers are quite up to scratch (see below!), and it's amusing to hear how the words have been changed to suit the situations. This is obviously a funny film, and something I found particularly amusing was when the the locals, particularly the old Greek ladies, joined in all the musical fun. They're more sprightly than you'd think - must be all the olive oil!

What makes this a bad film is the story, which I felt was weak, and really just incidental to the film. It's just there to provide a platform for the songs, and so that some humourous scenarios can be built around it. I also had big problems with most of the cast.

Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) has a lovely, sweet singing voice and she's a very beautiful girl, but she's rather over the top in this. Although the film thrives on the energy and enthusiasm of its cast, for my delicate English sensibilities her over-enthusiasm and dramatic facial expressions make her less believable and a bit nauseating. But then at least she can act; Dominic Cooper who plays her fiance Sky, seems a little confused throughout the film, and I was surprised to learn from the IMDB that he's acted before. (Ooh, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. He seemed like a nice lad though!)

I was also disturbed throughout by two British actors who I thought were miscast. Pierce Brosnan, so good as an action superhero, is just painful to watch as this singing romantic hero. Meant to be the butch, manly lover who swept Donna off her feet, he just comes across as arrogant. And it is painful to hear and watch him sing, as it gives him this red, bulgy look around his face and throat which made me think he was going to be ill, or maybe explode! I kept willing him not to sing, but sadly he kept doing it.

Julie Walters, usually faultless and quite loveable in every role that she plays, seems totally out of place in this film. She's cast as Rosie, Donna's short, playful, and rather unfeminine British friend, (in contrast to Christine Baranski's Tanya, who is her tall, prim and 'feminine to the point of vampy', American friend!) I don't think this part suits her at all. It's not that she doesn't play it well, but surrounded by all the kitsch, the musical mayhem and the American over-the-top-ness, she just doesn't fit somehow. I thought that she herself appeared quite embarrassed at some of the things she found her character doing, and this all made for slightly uncomfortable viewing.

But despite my tearing apart certain aspects of the film, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good ABBA song. A Greek island is a nice place to escape to for an hour or so, and Meryl Streep makes it all worthwhile! I came out feeling happy and with an optimistic feeling in my heart.

So, an enjoyable film, (even though it's quite bad).

When I got home I was greeted by a very excited little girl, full of tales about trains, sandpits, grandparents and self-assembly furniture.


Photo credit: The Village Voice