Mamma Mia! The Movie (Fullscreen) (2008)

"Yes, of course this is fairly old-fashioned entertainment, but it's really, really entertaining.  Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"Mamma Mia! is fun, the music's terrific and the cast is appealing.  Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"An absolutely hilarious, rousing and joyous celebration!  Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com
"...a delightful piece of filmmaking with a marvelous cast topped by Meryl Streep in one of her smartest and most entertaining performances ever.  Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter
"...takes the ABBA jukebox musical that ate London, and is still eating Broadway, and turns it into a surprisingly sensuous experience.  Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Editor's Note After its run as a West End hit in London, MAMMA MIA became a Broadway smash when it opened in New York back in 2001. With a story framed around the music of the Swedish pop band Abba, crowds loved its raucous, dance party vibe. Now it comes to the silver screen, with some truly delightful performances from the likes of Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. It is the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) a young woman living on a picturesque Greek island with her mother, Donna (Streep.) Together, Donna and Sophie run a ramshackle island inn, and they are in the midst of preparing for Sophie's wedding. As the wedding approaches, Sophie becomes troubled by the fact that she has never known her father. She was the result of one of her mother's summer flings, and her mother has never revealed her father's identity. When Sophie stumbles upon her mother's diary, she learns that there are three possible men who could be her dad. Without telling her mother, she invites all three to her wedding. When Harry (Colin Firth), Sam (Brosnan), and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) all arrive at the same time, Donna is of course shocked and overwhelmed by seeing her old lovers again after such a long time. She turns to her two best friends, Tanya (Christine Baranaki) and Rosie (Julia Walters), for their support, and vows to just get through the wedding and weekend. Meanwhile, Sophie spends time with each man, determined to learn the truth. Major hijinks and confusion ensues, all amidst the utterly romance scenery, and the rather irresistible, swelling love ballads. Streep has a lovely singing voice, and to watch her throw herself into this whimsical role is truly a delight. She looks like she is having a ball, and it is hard not to shimmy along with her. Baranski reliably delivers an over-the-top showstopper, and Brosnan's tender singing voice makes his character all the more touching. The film strives to be a jubilant celebration of mother/daughter relationships and the love between good friends, and no matter how cheesy some may find Abba, it is hard to resist its many charms.

	Stellan Skarsgaard
	Pierce Brosnan
	Julie Walters
	Christine Baranski
	Dominic Cooper
	Amanda Seyfried
	Colin Firth
	Meryl Streep
	Gary Goetzman - Producer
	Abba - Source Composer
	Rita Wilson - Executive Producer
	Mark Huffam - Executive Producer
	Benny Andersson - Executive Producer
	Haris Zambarloukos - Director of Photography
	Tom Hanks - Executive Producer
	Bjorn Ulvaeus - Executive Producer
	Judy Craymer - Producer
	Bjorn Ulvaeus - Composer
	Benny Andersson - Composer
	Catherine Johnson - Screenwriter
	Phyllida Lloyd - Director

USA Today
3 stars out of 4 -- "[Streep's] chemistry with co-star Pierce Brosnan is palpable. Streep and the rest of the cast appear to be having the time of their lives." 07/18/2008

Sight and Sound
"Playful exuberance is the order of the day....['Waterloo'] lures you into a glorious world of upbeat melodies, glitter, sequins and flares, and leaves you dancing out of the cinema." 09/01/2008 p.68

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "There's a joyous 'Dancing Queen'....It's full of super troupers and smiles." 09/01/2008 p.64

Premiere
"Set on a stunning Grecian isle, MAMMA MIA! is a frenzied farce....Get ready to dust off those old ABBA discs on vinyl. Because afterwards, you'll want to keep this party going..." 07/14/2008

ReelViews 8 of 10
Mamma Mia! delivers exactly what one can reasonably expect from it. It's a faithful adaptation of the stage play of the same name but, more importantly, it's a repository for ABBA songs - nearly two dozen in total. Considering that the average running length of each of these songs is between two and three minutes, that means about 2/3 of the film is singing, with the remaining 35 minutes (or so) devoted to insignificant things like exposition and dialogue. Mamma Mia! is relentlessly cheerful and unapologetically campy, and will find its strongest (and perhaps only) adherents among the group that looks back fondly on ABBA...Mamma Mia! mostly avoids the pitfalls that tripped up Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. Both films suffer from the same structural problem - trying to fashion a screenplay around numerous pop songs - but, where Across the Universe tried to be artistic and substantive, Mamma Mia! is content to wallow in nostalgia and cheesiness...Visually, the movie doesn't do a lot. The gorgeous island setting provides an impressive backdrop, and some of the stage-bound garishness of the play is toned down. The camerawork is simple, with Lloyd preferring longer takes to the flash-and-cut approach favored in many recent motion picture musicals. The benefit of the approach is that it gives us an opportunity to concentrate on the actors. There's something enjoyable watching such an impressive group making asses of themselves and thoroughly enjoying the experience...It's airheaded just like the songs it embraces but, if you enjoy them, there's every reason to believe you'll appreciate the film. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
I saw the stage version of "Mamma Mia!" in London, where for all I know, it is now entering the second century of its run, and I was underwhelmed. The film version has the advantage of possessing Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and Julie Walters, but their assets are stretched fairly thin. And there are the wall-to-wall songs by ABBA, if you like that sort of thing. I don't, not much, with a few exceptions...But here's the fact of the matter. This movie wasn't made for me. It was made for the people who will love it, of which there may be a multitude. The stage musical has sold 30 million tickets, and I feel like the grouch at the party...The plot is a clothesline on which to hang the songs; the movie doesn't much sparkle when nobody is singing or dancing, but that's rarely. The stars all seem to be singing their own songs, aided by an off-screen chorus of, oh, several dozen, plus full orchestration. Streep might seem to be an unlikely choice to play Donna, but you know what? She can play anybody...The island is beautiful. Moviegoers will no doubt be booking vacations there. The energy is unflagging. The local color feels a little overlooked in the background; nobody seems to speak much Greek. And then there are the songs. You know them. You may feel you know them too well. Or maybe you can never get enough of them. Streep's sunshine carries a lot of charm, although I will never be able to understand her final decision in the movie -- not coming from such a sensible woman. Never mind. Love has its way. - Roger Ebert