As the story progresses, her three possible fathers(Skarsgard, Brosnan, and Firth) , and stubborn- headed mother Donna(Streep) take a trip down memory lane as they recount their last summer together, and what seems to be one of the last happiest moments in their lives.
This film does a great job of focusing on the chemistry between the actors, especially between the three dads and Donna, as well as Donna and Sophie. It truly depicts the struggle of mother learning to let go as her daughter grows and matures as well as a daughter learning to truly accept her mother. The film also focuses a great deal on the interactions between the three possible fathers and Donna as she learns to face her past, and accept it not just as history, but truly as something that defined her. Another great interaction this movie focuses on, and one that added to the comedy of the movie, was the interaction between Donna and Dinomoes, showing the beauty of long lasting friendships and their inseparable bond, something that is a nice relief from some present day movies.
Another great aspect of this movie is the music. The musical itself is based on the hit 70’s group ABBA, and puts into a beautifully woven design many of their top hit songs such as “Mamma Mia” and “Dancing Queen.” The actors and back-up singers do a wonderful job on the vocals of ABBA’s songs and made for an even more pleasant movie.
A personal favorite of mine in the movie was the scenery. The movie takes place on an island with many trees and in one scene where Sophie is spending the afternoon with her three possible dads, the director does an excellent job on focusing on these different locations.
Again, I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants a fun, light-hearted movie where the momentum never seems to stop growing, then I would recommend this movie for over the summer as a must see! However this movie is rated PG-13 and I would caution anyone under the age of 13 to seeing this movie as it does have many sexual related comments.
Beautiful movie. Definately a thumbs-up from me.
I love this movie! I do think the singing could be better, but the actors are actors, not singers. The chemistry between them was fantastic, and that makes up for any flaws they might have in their singing. 3.5 Stars from me.
I really wanted to love this movie but it was so hard when the actors were singing. It would have been a much better movie with out the musical part. I am a musical fan, this movie just didn’t have the right stuff to make it work. I don’t think better singing would have made it better. Musicals are suppose to take you into that moment of the feeling, I just wasn’t able to make the transition. It failed to make that leap in the story. It was hard to finish watching because of it. 3 stars from me.
I find this movie highly enjoyable although the storyline is a little unusual as you don’t really find out who her real father is in the end of the film anyway. The music is very uplifting and has a very happy mood to it, I did enjoy the singing, some of the actors were a little bit off, but the music and dancing made up for that, I would give it 3.5 Stars in all.
Very entertaining! Cute movie, 4 stars.
I agree with Suez (commented above). Being that this is a great play, I was hoping it would translate on the big screen. But the singing made me cringe (except for Amanda Seyried, and Dominic Cooper). The cast had many well known faces, but the film is a musical and if you don’t have actor(s) who have that ability then it would have been better for the film makers to go with a cast of unknowns. The only scenes I enjoyed were the ones with Amanda and Dominic, the rest was forgettable.
I love how the film portrayed the scenery of the island. Im glad it took advantage of a great location and made me seem I could smell the salt in the air.
The review is well done , by Yodaman , but i couldn’t help noticing that Dominic Cooper (as Sky , Sophie’s fiance) was not mentioned , as he had done a short but yet remarkable role as well as one track , with Amanda Seyfried in the movie .
and , also a small information that was missed that movie is an adptation of the hit Broadway classic “MAMA MIA!”… it was an amazing hit and won about 10 awards worldwide and a record for the highest grossing opening musical movie. MAMA MIA is a total refreshing movie , with amazing hits from 70’s rock band ABBA , which you cannot stop to sing along , my personal favourite is “Dancing Queen” .
Unfortunately, I do not share the same feelings regarding this movie. What could be wrong about a film loaded with peppy show tunes and set in an amazing location? Answer-the casting. As soon as Pierce Brosnan opened his mouth I started cringing, and I didn’t feel much better about Colin Firth either. This movie would’ve been much more enjoyable if the characters were cast because of their proper vocal abilities and that they truly fit the part, rather than just their star quality.
I agree with Sara. When Pierce Brosnan sang it reminded me of finger nails being scraped down a blackboard.
Yes the scenery was by far the best part of the film, but I was amazed at how well received it was by critics. I suspect you have to really love ABBA to love this film, and maybe thats why I felt it was a painful 108 minutes.
Sara knows what she’s talking about – the potential of this movie to be a fun, decent musical was thrown out the window when they casted it. They were too focused on advertising big names to consider the singing voices behind them. The voices just weren’t up to par for me, and really took away from the quality of an otherwise engaging film.
PS – I highly recommend the stage version. Talk about voices!
I honestly thought this was a great movie. The directing was done incredibly well and even though some of the actors weren’t the greatest singers, you could tell they actually tried and didn’t fake it!
I like the movie, but if I hadn’t already seen the movie this review wouldn’t have made me want to see it. Key actors weren’t mentioned and the paragraphs were short and didn’t give me a good idea of you the characters were and what made it good or bad.
With this film it was hard not to laugh, and be embarrassed when one of the actors/actresses did something completely out of ordinary. It was great to watch and I enjoyed it as much as they all looked like they enjoyed making it. Fantastic family movie, or whenever you need a lift!
Mumma Mia sucks. I’ve never been able to finish it.
In comparison with other great musicals like Cry Baby, Chicago or Mulin Rouge it is the absolut pits.
Sorry, but the only thing good about this movie is the beautiful Greek scenery
When i watched this movie i remembered all the songs by ABBA and i remember my younger years. I loved their songs and i loved the movie.
I enjoyed this movie,it was funny despite the boys i saw it with didn’t. The songs are addictive cant help but sing along. I loved meryl streep in this movie.
Mamma Mia is a fantastic movie, full of fun enjoyment for the whole family. The cast they picked was remarkable, the vibrant background of everything was incredible. You can’t help but sing along to the movie with the characters. Great movie for anyone looking for a pick me up.