When All Is Sung And Won

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2011)

Being a fan of the legendary pop group that supplied us with such adorable hits, I was keen on seeing this musical for several reasons. The title, MAMMA MIA, which originates from ABBA's 1975 chart-topper, evokes certain curiosity and enthusiasm. Except for the world-known song "Mamma Mia," and the box office success of the movie, there is a story behind, a story to sing rather than to tell...a story to sing with the creative use of immortal ABBA hits...
And I admit that the great merit of this musical lies in the humorous, adequate use of the lyrics and dynamic music by the Swedish pop group. As a matter of fact, we get the wide range of their tunes with certain contexts that fit particularly to the very moments. Among many unforgettable scenes, I particularly enjoyed "Money Money Money" (with its excellent manifestation of Donna's finances); "Our Last Summer" (with its desirable reference to her carefree past); "Gimme Gimme Gimme" (with the lovely combination of fun and erotic tension); and "The Winner Takes it All", one of my ABBA's favorites where pain of loss goes with some hope for the future...the scene is very good because it does resist the 'temptation' to fall into exaggerated sentimentality. And the content?
The dilemmas of a young woman, Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) are depicted humorously and flexibly enough to result in a convincing storyline. Her dilemmas, just before her wedding, focused on figuring out who her real father is absorbs all the people around, including her two best friends Ali (Ashley Lilley) and Lisa (Rachel Mc Dowall), her mother's friends Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baransky), and, most importantly, her own mother Donna (Meryl Streep). What a character....this Mamma Mia! Donna Sheridan is the owner of a wonderful villa rumored to have been built on the legendary fountain of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. And love has a significant word in that... Donna seems to know her 'secret Fernando...' As the story develops, the love occurs to be stronger than anything else and "there is no hurry any more when all is said and done..." More and more couples, more and more sympathies, the lovely words "I Do I Do I Do" are being sung and the hearts in dance being won.
The locations of the movie...Greece...where people breathe love with the air and where song, no matter if romantic or ecstatic...has a power to win people's hearts constitute an important aspect of the artistry. The small Greek island Skopelos and the Pelion area have been chosen as the locations for the Kalokairi island where the events are set. And the use of the sets is truly brilliant with the feeling for the Mediterranean beauty. Where else could such a story be set if not in those idyllic places?
Except for Amanda Seyfried who looks gorgeous, the performances are rather average...even if the movie has such an important cinema star as Pierce Brosnan. Yet, there is one exception, one person that truly stands out in her performance and that is Meryl Streep. She does a marvelous job portraying her character with wit, with flexibility, with a magnificent flair for combining craziness essential in such comedy with a great degree of emotionality that links her with the viewers. But, foremost, she surprises as by her singing ABBA songs. Having been taught opera as a child, she has already stunned viewers by singing in films like SILKWOOD and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION but in MAMMA MIA she is just marvelous, magnetizing and incomparable.
A nice musical, a lovely film for TWO being watched affectionately at a summer night city flat, a beach bar somewhere on the coast or in a nice cottage room...an inspiring romantic sentiment, humor that always makes our lives brighter and a lovely escape from the everyday rush that occurs pointless when all is sung and won... It seems that we are having fun, indeed! Thank you for the musicAL!