Does not waste its emotion, but delivers an ideal cocktail of bouncy exuberance and self-effacing humour

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2009)

For the sake of making things abundantly clear right from the start, those whom generally harbour a dislike or intolerance of the movie musical genre, be forewarned: Mamma Mia! is not the film for you. It is not a film which will change anyone's mind regarding the genre by refuting general criticisms of musicals offering only shallow, superficial spectacle at the expense of content, potentially irritating bouncy exuberance and credibility straining anti-realism. Nor does it intend to be such a film, as Mamma Mia!, rather than attempting to overcome such potential concerns, embraces and exemplifies them with a cheery charm, making otherwise vacuous source material brim with such incessant energy that one cannot help but either be consumed by it or discount it completely.
Yet the fact that Mamma Mia! is content as a film to settle for supremely bouncy entertainment rather than striving for further complexity does not indicate the film remains within a blissfully ignorant bubble of its own froth. Director Phyllida Lloyd is shrewd enough to inject her film with a slyly self-referential sense of humour, never afraid to poke fun at itself or the inherent silliness of the musical genre it is highly aware it fully subscribes to. It would even be an overstatement to say the film offers no deeper thematic complexity whatsoever, as a faintly detectable air of quietly introspective sadness circles around Streep's character and her reflections on aging and past party-filled lifestyle. But for the most part, the film's aim is abundantly clear - to be as silly, upbeat and flat out entertaining as possible, cranking out elaborate dance numbers to the continually thumping beat of absurdly catchy ABBA songs and proving so infectious that even the most skeptical viewers who manage to see the film through will find it exceedingly difficult to avoid singing and dancing along. While the film can hardly be considered a cinematic masterpiece, taking it at face value for all it aimed to be, it can be considered no less than a jovial success.
The majority of the film's merits come from its talented cast, throwing themselves into the fray with unashamed abandon and the sense of fun they appear to be having is undeniably contagious. Meryl Streep alone makes the film worth viewing, belting out songs and performing acrobatic dance feats with the energy, skill and spunk of a woman half her age. But apart from mere musical interlude plaudits, Streep fills the screen with the star presence only she can truly deliver, contributing a wisdom etched sense of dignity and utter plausibility, making her character's embracing of her sillier, more fun loving past all the more triumphantly genuine. Amanda Seyfield also sparkles with appropriate energy and starry eyed enthusiasm as Streep's daughter, aiming to discover which of her mother's three past beaus was her birth father. As said potential parents, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and (delightfully unorthodox piece of casting) Stellen Skarsgard all have a great time embarrassing themselves, making up for their woeful lack of singing capabilities with witty, measured and charismatic performances. Similarly, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are a riot as Streep's fun loving friends, and Dominic Cooper delivers strong vocals and impressively earnest acting talent as Seyfield's free thinking fiancé.
While few films will divide audiences so definitively, Mamma Mia! is commendable for never striving to be anything more than an infectiously bouncy and cheerily entertaining expanse of time, with Lloyd's willingness to poke fun at her own film adding a welcome tinge of upbeat irony. The film is single-minded enough in its purpose that those who will not be able to stand it should know well in advance, and those well versed in such fare should be swept away, having nothing less than a supremely fun time.
-7/10