Greece. Abba. Meyrl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. What else could you ask for?

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2008)

"Mamma Mia!" may not be the best musical of this decade, but it certainly is one of the funnest. After an action laden summer with "Iron Man," "Indy Jones 4," "Wanted," and "Hancock," it's nice to see at least one film without stunts but dances, and with without special effects but songs. Director Phyllida Lloyd has fashioned "Mamma Mia!" more in tune with its stage counterpart; the cutting isn't so fast (so you can focus more on each individual shot) and, like the musical, has a big encore at the end featuring all of the major characters in tight spandex (that alone is worth the price of admission). The result is a lot of bright, feel-good fun and a bunch of ABBA hits to go along with it.
The plot is ridiculously easy to follow (not that it matters much anyway). 20-year-old Sophie (Seyfried) is about to be married to Sky (Dominic Cooper), but wants her dad to give her away. Upon reading her mom's (Meyrl Streep) journal, she learns that she has three possible dads (Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, and Colin Firth). When they arrive on the island, expected complications ensue.
Both Streep and Seyfried are the standouts of this movie. Streep moves with such agility and energy you'll be surprised that she still has it all in her at 50+ years. She's also quite funny and, in one scene with Pierce Brosnan, she steals the show with "The Winner Takes it All" by putting some real, genuine emotion into her performance. Seyfried is a surprising find; I'll admit, after watching "Mean Girls," I never thought she'd make for such a great singing lead! But great she is; her voice sounds wonderful and she's easy on the eyes too. Both Streep and Seyfriend do a good job acting too.
As for the rest of the cast, both Christina Baranski and Julie Walters steal scenes with "Does your mother know" and "Take a chance of me." (respectively) And yes, the rumors are true, Pierce Brosnan sounds very un-Pierce Brosnanish when he sings (but its fun watching him try anyway- at least he can act well). Skarsgard and Firth do relatively well with their roles to, as does Dominic Cooper.
The choreography is good, and the cinematography is easy to watch. As said before, the director fashions this a little more on the Broadway side, so if you're looking for something insightful or enthralling like last year's "Sweeney Todd," you've come to the wrong place. This musical is nothing more than fun, fun, fun. In a summer season so dominated by "blockbuster" pictures, take a chance (quite literally) on this movie. It's better than you think, and its 107 minutes of your time that you will enjoy a lot.