Mamma Mia - the Movie

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2008)

Let's face it, with out the music of Benny Andersonn and Bjorn Ulvaeus, this musical wouldn't have made it past the concept stage. I became an absolute ABBA nut rather late in life and think this trivial plot became something more when written around ABBA's music. I was well past the "teenie bopper" phase when ABBA first came on the scene and liked their music well enough but I wasn't really listening to pop music then. When the music resurfaced after the opening of Mamma Mia the musical, I heard the radio and TV commercials and thought, "You know these folks were really very good". We went to see the show on Broadway and were instantly hooked. Singing along with all the songs, we watched joyfully as people ACTUALLY DID start dancing in the aisles!! We have seen it twice more since and enjoyed it then too. The folks we sat next to were also repeaters (Three times!!) When the movie was announced, we awaited it anxiously and saw it the second day after release. Somewhere on this site a previous reviewer said that an inherent flaw was that Frida and Agnetha's marvelous voices were missing and that was right on. How the producers of this movie could cast Merryl Streep , Pierce Brosnan and a cast of non singers to do this is beyond me. That said, they were OK, and the setting in the Greek Isles is beautiful, but it's still the songs and arrangements that are top notch. If you're not an ABBA fan, you will be after watching this movie. It's now being released on DVD, Watch it.