Review: Mamma Mia! the Movie

#143 - Mamma Mia! the Movie

Mamma Mia! is a movie based on the Broadway musical, which is based on music from the band ABBA. It focuses on Donna, an eccentric hotel owner on an island in Greece. Her daughter, Sofie, is getting married, but there's one problem: she doesn't have her dad to walk her down the aisle. Why doesn't she have her dad to walk her down the aisle? She doesn't know who her dad is! She finds her mother's diary and invites the three men who could possibly be her father. Chaos ensues once Donna discovers her three ex-lovers are on the island at the same time.

The only reason I own this movie is for the music. I love it...oh, that and the fact that Colin Firth is in it.

He's just absolute perfection in its most British and beautiful form.

Other than the music, the movie is absolute garbage. The acting is cheesy, half of the cast can't sing, and the directorial choices are awful. Which means it's a perfect representation of the Broadway show, because that is garbage as well. I'm very disappointed that a musical that has such amazing songs to work with ended up being so dumb. It's fun to watch, but once Pierce Brosnan starts singing, I want to rip my eardrums out. I mean honestly, if you pinned him and Russell Crowe in a competition against each other for who has the worst voice, it would be a very difficult answer to come to! The only reason he was cast in this film was because he's very easy on the eyes. I also have to say how nauseous it makes me to hear the vibrato at the end of EVERY SINGLE ONE of Amanda Seyfried's notes. Ughhhh. Just stop.

I hate to bash Mamma Mia! because the music always puts me in such a good mood, but the writers of this screenplay need to hang up the towel and move on. The concept is good (and that is thanks to the Broadway show), but cheesy[ness] of the scenes and the odd choices made by the director make it hard to watch the film. One thing that really drives me insane is whether or not I'm supposed to know the ensemble is there or not. During 2-3 of the scenes, the Greek...cleaning crew?...says something, and Donna turns around and acts as if no one is there. However, later on, she's singing to them and inviting them to the wedding and having them set the places at the tables. It's very odd...or I might as well say "It's all very Greek."


Overall, I give Mamma Mia! the Movie 2 out of 5 stars, and that is only because I get to look at Colin Firth alongside the beautiful scenery of Greece for two hours.