Mama Mia! What a Movie!

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2009)

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this movie. Even those of us (cough, cough) too young to remember Abba in their heyday will enjoy this fast-paced supersized music video of their hits.
If nothing else it is a chance to see Meryl Streep who hits her stride letting loose with her singing talents shown at the end of "Postcards from the Edge." Her rendition of "Winner Takes It All" alone is worthy of an Oscar as she delivers the song in great voice but with all of the acting passion that the words are meant to convey.
Abba's music is the epitome of deeply melodic, feel-good, moving (physically or emotionally) music and this film does a great job of conveying that. I can't imagine anyone seeing it in the theater as a play and not dancing in the aisles.
There were only two down sides. There's something about the directing/audio that is off- putting. There seems to be a wall between us and the folks in the film, an artifice that keeps you from really getting the "zing" it must have had in a live performance. And the other is the downright bizarre singing voice of Pierce Brosnan. LOL. Some commenter said that "no one" can sing, which is an obvious reference to the writer's own "tin ear" as most of the cast sing very, very well. But Brosnan, who apparently sang his own songs, sounds like a whiskey-voiced folk singer from the 60s. It's especially jarring to not hear his accent. Like the old days of hearing Gomer Pyle singing opera. :)
Other than those two things, though Mama Mia, and especially Meryl Streep, shine like the sun through a streaky window. Warming and joyful, and the streaks can be forgiven as they only encourage you to go find the real thing for yourself.