Not fun for everyone

Rating: 5/10 (26 July 2008)

Maybe it's a generational thing---Meryl Streep is a contemporary, and I am usually a fan. But after seeing the movie and belatedly reading the critics' reviews, I have to agree with those that say the film is disappointing. On the positive side, the scenery is stunning and the songs great fun. Sophie is engaging. But somehow it is more depressing than uplifting to see 50-somethings reving up the hormones and revisiting their elusive dreams of happiness. A youthful quest for family stability slips away. Watching the cast have "fun" was more like being a sober guest at a bacchanalian festival. From the morning-after perspective, our aging seekers-after-love have had 20 years to find it, and is anybody happy? . . . But then, there is still hope.