Mamma Mia! It is really good!

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2008)

The musical is a genre that I have to confess I do quite enjoy. The older musicals such as Sound of Music, Grease, Annie don't interest me in the slightest, but then again my mum killed Sound of Music with endless repeats many years ago. However the more recent musicals have really been quite brilliant. Starting off with Moulin Rouge really, sure it wasn't a stage show before hand, sure it was odd, but my god it was brilliant. Chicago followed suit, although this time being adapted from a screen show. And in the past year two of my all time favourite musicals, Hairspray and Sweeney Todd, have all been made and been amazing. However two previously stage show musicals that did not do so well had to be The Producers (enjoyable but uninspired), and the dismal Phantom of the Opera that had me crawling at the walls. So I was unsure how good Mamma Mia would be, take out the songs would it be lame and uninspired, or would the story hold together. Thankfully Mamma Mia is a truly brilliant musicals and also the feel good film of the summer! The film features an extremely strong cast, brilliant songs, and a story which while unoriginal does hold together and works quite well. But what makes the movie work so damned well has to be the certain level of charm, you can't help but smile for some reason. Perhaps it is ABBA's infectious songs, perhaps its Meryl Streep giving a superb performance, either way it still makes for a brilliant movie.
So onto the cast and of course their singing voice. When Meryl Streep was announced as the lead Donna I was unsure how she would work, but after seeing the movie I have no idea why I doubted her. Her performance here reinforces the fact that she really is one of the greatest actresses of our time. And by god does she have a good singing voice as well. Its her brilliant rendition of Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen that really livens the film up. Right up until then the movie does seem to drag a tiny bit. Amanda Seyfried is surprisingly brilliant as Amanda, the girl the wedding all revolves around. We'll hopefully be seeing a lot more of her after this movie. Pierce Brosnan does well in the talking moments, yet not so well in the singing department. He starts off terribly but does seem to improve. Colin Firth is pretty good and much like St Trinian's proves he doesn't take himself too seriously. Stellen Skarsgard is decent in a pretty limited role to be honest. Julie Walters is a hoot as the brilliant aunt, her final scene being truly priceless.
Mamma Mia of course is mostly all about the songs, and while a few of the songs weren't as recognisable to me as others, the main songs, Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Money, Money, Money etc, are all there and are all done to absolutely perfection. But the very best song comes courtesy of Meryle Streep on top of a mountain singing The Winner Takes It All, its the emotional height of the movie and it is just amazing. Definitely one of the best scenes of the year so far. But thankfully the story does work very well. You're kept guessing right up to the very end who the actual father is, and there are a few twists and turns along the way as well that make the movie a more interesting ride. The direction and script are also done pretty well. The only reason this fall short of being as good as Hairspray to be honest is the movie does hit a snag ten minutes in and roughly twenty minutes before the end. The movie doesn't have as many songs and it seems a tiny bit dull without them. Still the minute the songs start up again the movie is great and lively.
Overall Mamma Mia isn't the best scripted, directed movie of all time, but its something light, fluffy and downright entertaining. If you don't like ABBA then avoid this like the plague, but if you find the songs infectious (even if you don't like to admit it as I do) the movie is quite brilliant and worth seeing for Meryl Streep mighty impressive performance alone.