ABBA-dabba-do

Rating: 6/10 (5 April 2016)

I'm a fan of movie musicals and fondly remembered the group ABBA's tunes from the 1970's so I thought I'd give this one a shot. It's based on the world-wide stage sensation which was, in turn, based on the Swedish pop-group's hits. It's kind of fun at times and has beautiful location photography, but this middle-aged, female fantasy is awfully contrived and somewhat sappy. Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth seem uncomfortable in their roles and Pierce Brosnan's singing leaves a lot to be desired. It does showcase Streep's fine voice and some of the numbers are inventively staged, but I think an appreciation of the film is pretty dependent on one's enjoyment of the stage show or the group's music.