Mamma Mia!

When this film came out, I had some interest in seeing it because I like ABBA. The Caped Crusader however got in the way that very same weekend of the release of "Mamma Mia!" and I never got to see the movie until five years later. It was on the big screen as part of a summer musical event. I feel that the film is a tad too flamboyant and campy for my taste but this appears to be on purpose. I can understand that. The cast did their jobs well and the use of location is the best selling point of the film. The music and story were good but this review is to comment on the film adaptation and not the songs or original musical.

The mood of the film was something I had to get used to as I watched. There was a lot of dancing, amazing vistas, bright colors and editing that were a bit distracting. This appears to be what the filmmakers wanted though and I don't have a huge problem with that. The use of the chapel during the end of the film was awesome. Speaking of the colors and lighting, it may have been a little much but it was still attractive. I love the hippy look on Pierce Brosnan by the way. It is fitting that they shot some of the movie on the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios with him in the cast. The amount of sexual innuendo was something I could live without though. The songs were well handled for the most part but many of them felt forced upon the story. That is a fault of the original musical though and not the movie version. My favorite song sequence was "Dancing Queen". I was hoping for a longer use of " Take a Chance on Me". I very much enjoyed the end credit sequence, especially when the dads show up in costume. Meryl Steep can fit perfectly into any role it seems. Had I seen this film in 2008, it would have been my introduction to Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper and future Oscar-winner Colin Firth. Without his makeup from "Pirates of the Caribbean", I wouldn't have recognized Stellan Skarsgard. Even five years after the release of "Mamma Mia!" and after all eight "Harry Potter" films, I still didn't recognize Julie Walters in this show. I liked Philip Michael as Pepper because he has a Issac-type persona. I didn't know that Tom Hanks was the executive producer of this movie.

This film was watchable thanks to ABBA and the cast members but not something that entertained me fully. I do like musicals but I feel that this one is too flashy for my taste. I would love to visit the island where they filmed this movie though. Filmmaking can take the best musicals and make them better by placing them out in the world.

3 Stars