What a blast!!!

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2008)

One of the unique aspects of musical theater is the ability of a good production to transform the theater stage to the location of the action with a few painted curtains, lighting and set decorations. Of course, the audience generally buys into this transformation since they have an idea of what to expect when they walk into the theater. With 'Mamma Mia', as with most other movie musicals, the actual location sets make it much easier for the audience to buy into the movie. This movie's location sets and scenery are absolutely glorious and are one of the highlights of the show.
Ane then there is Meryl Streep. What a wonderful lady and actress. Some have complained she is overage-cast for her role, but to me, her singing and dancing abilities do not suffer at all. If one blanks out the fact she is 55, it's obvious she is up to the role and has a great time in it it. I thought her version of "Winner Takes It All" (which according to the IMDb trivia was done in one take) was right on and went well beyond ABBA's pop version.
My only complaints with the movie are that two of my favorite songs ('I do! I do! I do' and 'Thank you for the music' from the production were shortened or placed over the credits. Oh well...
My recommendation is to see this movie and be prepared for a couple of hours of musical escapism and watch one of the world's best actors perform at the top of her craft.