Your Entertainment Ticket.net

MAMA MIA

Starring: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Stellan Skarsgard and Dominic Cooper

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd

Rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments

By John Delia

I really enjoyed Mama Mia, a wonderful musical that’s got a lot going for it including a good cast, excellent direction and an amazing location. The lively movie features most all of ABBA’s best hits. Much like Sex in the City this film’s audience has a direct link to females, but males should enjoy Mama Mia much better than the ultimate chick flick.

20-year-old Sophie (Seyfried) is preparing to marry her boyfriend Sky (Cooper) at her mother's (Streep as Donna) hotel on an island in Greece. She seemingly has it all; a carefree life, loving boyfriend and happy friends but one thing has been missing all her life; a father. Her only wish now is to be given away by her dad at her wedding. By reading her mother's diary she discovers that she has three possible fathers (Firth, Brosnan and Skarsgard). Sophie then secretly invites all three men in a desperate bid to discover which of them is her father before the wedding bells start to chime! But not all goes to plan, old loves are re-kindled, new loves are formed and Sophie risks everything to discover the true identity of her father.

Making the film fun and lively, Streep, Walters and Baranski step it up with some great performances both in singing and dancing. For the wedding, Donna (Streep) invites her two best friends Rosie (Walters) and Tanya (Baranski). The three steal the show with their antics. I loved the bachelor-ette party where the three find themselves the belles of the event, singing and dancing the night away.

The music of Mama Mia comes from the legendary singers ABBA with songs like Dancing Queen, Fernando, Take a Chance on Me and of course the title song. The group’s songs have survived through the years and are still hits on many radio stations. The toe tapping sounds makes the film uplifting and fun. Most of all I thought that Streep was amazing good with all her numbers and should be honored for her performance. On a down note, Brosnan was not so good and crooned a little off key at times. But, who cares, since it’s Brosnan and the ex-James Bond guy can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned.

The real winner of the film is the location in Greece where the film was shot. The amazingly beautiful island made me want to start saving for a vacation to the enchanted land. If there was a category in the Oscars for ‘best locations’ this film would surly win the grand award.

FINAL ANALYSIS: If you love musicals, don’t miss the uplifting Mama Mia