Oh dear.........

Rating: 3/10 (31 July 2008)

Just got back from an afternoon screening of this film. Even though the film has been showing for almost three weeks now, the cinema was PACKED with (mostly) over 50s. Firstly, I am a HUGE fan of ABBA (have been since the early 70s, even before their Eurovision win) and I so wanted to enjoy this film but I'm afraid that I felt like watching it with my hands covering my face and peeking through my fingers, such was my embarrassment! Overacted to the extreme by all concerned it is truly cringeworthy. The dreadful Julie Walters was the usual awful hammy, mugging Mrs. Overall persona that she always is (you may have guessed that I can't STAND this particular 'national treasure'.I really had to force myself to go to see it knowing that this ghastly woman was in it.) The music is actually tolerably sung by most of the cast (with the exception of Pierce Brosnan) but the 'OMG' hystrionics of the actors to show that they are having 'fun' is just appalling. Incidentally, not one person in the cinema laughed at the 'funny' bits. All in all, a miscast (the leads were WAY too old) misfire and one that any discerning cinema goer will find poor.