Film Review: "Mamma Mia"
Jul. 28th, 2008 05:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beeinmybonnet
I went and saw "Mamma Mia" two days ago with my mum and one of my mum's best friends. I was a bit sceptical at first -- I mean, a musical? With Abba? I've never been very keen on either of them -- but it turned out that all three of us spent as good as every minute of the film writhing in laughter.
The main plot is the following: Sophie Sheridan [Amanda Seyfried] is about to marry Sky [Dominic Cooper]. She lives and works at her mother Donna's [Meryl Streep] hotel on a small island in Greece. Sophie has never known who her father is, but she recently found the diary her mother kept the year she was expecting Sophie. Donna was with three men that summer, and Sophie reckons that one of those men must be her dad.
So she invites all three of them to her wedding; Bill Anderson [Stellan Skarsgård], Harry Bright [Colin Firth] and Sam Carmichael [Pierce Brosnan]. She assumes that she will know who her father is the instant she meets him, but (of course) she doesn't and slowly she starts to panic. Then her mother finds out that her three exes are on the island, and also starts to panic. Hilarity ensues.
Well, as you see, the plot is not exactly complex, but it works and there are no major plot-holes. Also, it's so very obvious that it's not the plot that is not what is important in the film; it's the music. There are of course a lot of impromptu song numbers, but they're well-done and with tongue-in-cheek. And at least once in every number, there is a deliberate slip in the choreography, which makes it seem more real somehow.
Also, it's lovely to see that all the important characters (apart from Sophie and Sky, whom are more plot-devices than anything else) are in their middle age. For once everyone is not young and fresh-faced. Though everyone is completely out of their mind; Donna's best friends Rosie [Julie Walters] and Tanya [Christine Baranski] are completely uninhibited and hilarious. Tanya unabashedly flirts with the young men on the island, and breaks out in a fabulous song number to "Does your mother know?" on the beach halfway into the film. Rosie cutting and charming, and she and Tanya banter their way through the film. Examples of such:
*A young man flirts with Tanya*
Tanya: Easy there, boy. I'm old enough to be your mother.
Rosie: Grandmother.
*Donna, Rosie and Tanya discuss how they'll solve the problem with the men*
Rosie: Tanya and I will take them out fishing tomorrow.
Tanya: Fishing?
Rosie: Well, what else can we do with three men?
Tanya: Oh, that sure brings me back.
Yes, like I said, they are truly inhibited. And hilarious. Rosie's song number "Take a chance on me" in the end is golden.
The men are very amusing to watch. Bill Anderson, yachtsman and rather bohemian, is inhibited in a laid-back sort of way, very unlike Rosie and Tanya. Harry "Head-Banger" Bright is a typicalMr. Darcy Colin Firth-character; rather uptight and not the all that suave in social situations. Now, I know some people might find that annoying, but I am personally a huge fan of Firth, so I simply adore him. How can I not, when two of his first five lines in the movies are "Bugger," (when he misses the boat) and "Bollocks," (when he realizes the next boat arrives several days later)? To make it even better, Sam Carmichael replies to both statements with "My sentiment exactly." Sam is artistic and a very sympathetic character that's easy to like.
The ending is sweet, I think, and makes me smile for hours afterwards. I still haven't decided what to think of the plot-twist -- is it degrading of encouraging that Harry is gay? -- but I'm a silly, shallow girl with faghag-tendencies, so I must admit that Iwas am happy. Any film where I can watch Colin Firth kiss and press up against another man -- and when the "other man" happen to be one of those Greek gods, with olive skin, chiselled features and dark, curly hair -- is enough to make me happy everywhere. Seriously; the moment the DVD is released, I'll buy it so I can curl up in peace and drool over those scenes.
Well, I suppose that's it then. No, wait, I haven't reviewed the singing yet, of course. And Meryl Streep. About the singing, I think everyone managed. It was over all stretching from decent to excellent. But what do I know, I sound like a seagull as soon as I open my mouth, so I'm not that hard a judge. And about Meryl Streep... Well, what is there to say? She was brilliant, and so adorable in her rompers.
In short: This is a movie that makes you happy; I mean it, the smile won't wear off for days. And you'll have Abba songs stuck in your head for I don't know how long.
Best Song Number: "Does your mother know?" performed by Tanya at the beach was,as I've said, insanely hilarious. Though I loved every song number, so it's hard to choose.
Worst Song Number: There were really no bad ones, though "Honey, honey" performed by Sophie and her two friends made me roll my eyes a little, but that was at the girls immaturity.
Rating: 8/10
Other Notes: Apart from go and see it? Go and see it with your girlfriends, rather than your boyfriend/brother/father/any man. And maybe with your mother, or anyone else who lived when Abba broke through.
The main plot is the following: Sophie Sheridan [Amanda Seyfried] is about to marry Sky [Dominic Cooper]. She lives and works at her mother Donna's [Meryl Streep] hotel on a small island in Greece. Sophie has never known who her father is, but she recently found the diary her mother kept the year she was expecting Sophie. Donna was with three men that summer, and Sophie reckons that one of those men must be her dad.
So she invites all three of them to her wedding; Bill Anderson [Stellan Skarsgård], Harry Bright [Colin Firth] and Sam Carmichael [Pierce Brosnan]. She assumes that she will know who her father is the instant she meets him, but (of course) she doesn't and slowly she starts to panic. Then her mother finds out that her three exes are on the island, and also starts to panic. Hilarity ensues.
Well, as you see, the plot is not exactly complex, but it works and there are no major plot-holes. Also, it's so very obvious that it's not the plot that is not what is important in the film; it's the music. There are of course a lot of impromptu song numbers, but they're well-done and with tongue-in-cheek. And at least once in every number, there is a deliberate slip in the choreography, which makes it seem more real somehow.
Also, it's lovely to see that all the important characters (apart from Sophie and Sky, whom are more plot-devices than anything else) are in their middle age. For once everyone is not young and fresh-faced. Though everyone is completely out of their mind; Donna's best friends Rosie [Julie Walters] and Tanya [Christine Baranski] are completely uninhibited and hilarious. Tanya unabashedly flirts with the young men on the island, and breaks out in a fabulous song number to "Does your mother know?" on the beach halfway into the film. Rosie cutting and charming, and she and Tanya banter their way through the film. Examples of such:
*A young man flirts with Tanya*
Tanya: Easy there, boy. I'm old enough to be your mother.
Rosie: Grandmother.
*Donna, Rosie and Tanya discuss how they'll solve the problem with the men*
Rosie: Tanya and I will take them out fishing tomorrow.
Tanya: Fishing?
Rosie: Well, what else can we do with three men?
Tanya: Oh, that sure brings me back.
Yes, like I said, they are truly inhibited. And hilarious. Rosie's song number "Take a chance on me" in the end is golden.
The men are very amusing to watch. Bill Anderson, yachtsman and rather bohemian, is inhibited in a laid-back sort of way, very unlike Rosie and Tanya. Harry "Head-Banger" Bright is a typical
The ending is sweet, I think, and makes me smile for hours afterwards. I still haven't decided what to think of the plot-twist -- is it degrading of encouraging that Harry is gay? -- but I'm a silly, shallow girl with faghag-tendencies, so I must admit that I
Well, I suppose that's it then. No, wait, I haven't reviewed the singing yet, of course. And Meryl Streep. About the singing, I think everyone managed. It was over all stretching from decent to excellent. But what do I know, I sound like a seagull as soon as I open my mouth, so I'm not that hard a judge. And about Meryl Streep... Well, what is there to say? She was brilliant, and so adorable in her rompers.
In short: This is a movie that makes you happy; I mean it, the smile won't wear off for days. And you'll have Abba songs stuck in your head for I don't know how long.
Best Song Number: "Does your mother know?" performed by Tanya at the beach was,as I've said, insanely hilarious. Though I loved every song number, so it's hard to choose.
Worst Song Number: There were really no bad ones, though "Honey, honey" performed by Sophie and her two friends made me roll my eyes a little, but that was at the girls immaturity.
Rating: 8/10
Other Notes: Apart from go and see it? Go and see it with your girlfriends, rather than your boyfriend/brother/father/any man. And maybe with your mother, or anyone else who lived when Abba broke through.