About Stefan Halley
Location: Malmo, Sweden
Occupation: Editor-in-Chief
Bio: Stefan has been writing reviews for seven years and started Pop Syndicate out of need to voice his mis-guided opinion.
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“Money, Money, Money” is more than just the title to an ABBA song. It’s also what Mamma Mia is going to make.
As stage musicals go, it doesn’t get much bigger than the ABBA themed musical Mamma Mia. Universal Pictures wisely picked up the film version and cobbled together an all-star cast to produce a sure fire hit and counter programming for the current string of comic book movies. Mamma Mia translates beautifully to the screen with great performances, fun and horribly catchy ABBA tunes.
Fans of the musical will gladly embrace this version of their favorite stage play. The original show’s creators, producer Judy Craymer, director Phyllida Lloyd and writer Catherine Johnson bring their musical to big the screen, so the original musicals magic remains intact. Most impressive is the casting of Meryl Streep as Donna who carries the film and proves that she can pretty much do anything.
For the guys out there that haven’t seen the musical, Donna (Streep) is a former singer who raising her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on a remote Greek island while trying to keep her failing resort afloat. On the eve of Sophie’s wedding, the three men that might be her father arrive thinking they’ve been invited by Donna. Donna is quite shocked when the three men suddenly appear in her life once again.
Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard are the three possible dads. Their secretive arrival is soon uncovered and Donna gets helped by her two pals (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski) to get back on track and marry off her daughter. The Greek backdrop provides excellent staging for dancing, romance, music and lively performances.
I’ve never seen the original musical but can only imagine it is quite the spectacle as my mother has been talking about every since seeing it five years ago. The music of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus translate bizarrely successfully and the music of ABBA holds up well. If you have a favorite ABBA song, odds are you’re going to hear it in the movie (personal favorite is “Dancing Queen”). From Baranski to Brosnan to Streep, all perform their musical numbers impressively.
Major kudos go out to Meryl Streep. She’s handled comedies, action and dramas but musical is a new territory. It’s so important that whoever landed that roll can carry a tune and look like she having fun. Sure they could have recorded over her voice but Streep is solid and her vocal talents shine. Together with Walters and Baranski, the trio plays off each other and really sells the film as the fun and frivolity that it is especially during the “Super Trooper” number.
In the end, Mamma Mia will please crowds and women looking for respite from animated robots and men in costumes. There hasn’t been a decent date movie all summer and Mamma Mia should please have audiences dancing out of the theatres.
There’s only so much money it can make when it’s coming out the same weekend as The Dark Knight!!! Don’t get me wrong, though, I know my mother will probably want to see it!
Interesting. A critic gave it five thumbs down this morning at the Sunday Morning Show.
I saw both Mamma Mia! and The Dark Knight this weekend and both were splendid
yeah, it’s not getting great reviews but I don’t know what critics were expecting. It’s not a deep film. It’s not like the original musical a deep exploration into the human psyche. It’s a fun musical and done pretty well. Just enjoy it for what it is and the awesome ABBA music.