Surprisingly Infectious Fun

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2008)

In my mind, this movie had a lot of negatives to overcome: Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep singing, a cast that didn't exactly scream "hit", ...the music of ABBA, for pete's sake! But as difficult as it is to say, I'll say it.... I am a heterosexual male, and I enjoyed Mamma Mia!
There's plenty to like - Amanda Seyfried's infectious joy (and beauty), the stunning Greek isle scenery, and yes, the music. It won me over practically from the start. The positives far outweighed the negatives - in fact, the negatives turned out not to be.
Abba's music never did much for me as pop songs, but in the context of a musical, they work quite well. There are a couple numbers I think could have been left out, specifically Baranski's "Does Your Mother Know" and Streep and Brosnan's "Winner Takes It All", but even those weren't bad. The singing is good pretty much across the board. Even the weakest singer, Pierce Brosnan, did a surprisingly good job. His voice has a certain Peter Gabriel quality to it (with a dash of Randy Newman).
For those friends of mine that refuse to see anything not considered a "manly" movie (and you know who you are), skip it. But for everyone else, take a chance on Mamma Mia. You may find yourself tapping your toes and smiling along.