Product Details

• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.com
The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing "Dancing Queen" is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding--because after reading her mother's diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she'd laid aside are coming back to life. But let's face it, the plot is not the point--it's a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep; every production number hammers its exuberance into your eyeballs. Which is too bad, because Mamma Mia! is a rarity: A middle-aged love story. The kids start things off, but the story is really about Streep and the three guys (former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard), as well as Donna's best friends (Christine Baranski, best known from the TV show Cybill, and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls). It's a romantic comedy aimed at the people who were around when all these songs were new, and that's an age group Hollywood largely ignores. For that alone, Mamma Mia! deserves to find an audience. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

A truly memorable movie that stays in your head!!!
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this cast and the movie far more than we expected. Abba was never on my list of favorite music groups in the 70's but this movie changed me! My wife who has always been a fan, has already seen it a second time with her girlfriend and is already to see it again this coming weekend.
It is hard in these days to really feel good with so many issues facing us, but if you need a pick up, an emergency quick fix, a rejuvenation of your spirit, this is the MOVIE TO SEE!!
The cast deserves any and every award they can give them, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan did a great job as did the entire cast! I honestly cannot recall seeing a movie that made me feel this good!! This is a must have for your home DVD collection but I strongly recommend you take the time and go to the movies!!! You will enjoy this one immeasurably!!!! Robert and Roberta Hecht

(4 ½ Stars) DEFINITELY SEE THE SING ALONG VERSION
MAMMA MIA! This movie is fun - nothing more and nothing less. We had not seen the stage production, and while my wife likes ABBA's music they certainly were not among our favorite groups. So we did not know what to expect given the mixed reviews by the critics, but went on opening weekend and were delighted. Of course, it had some of our favorite actors and actresses, an aspect whichadded to our enjoyment, but it was simply a laughingly good romp. The scenery was gorgeous and the director used the virtues of the media to great advantage, I have no idea whether it was "better or worse than the play", and it utilized film actors with excellent to mediocre vocal abilities rather than professionals chosen for their vocal ability; however, we and everyone else in the audience were continually smiling when not laughing out loud. It is almost a full two hours long, and the time passed very quickly.

I will not review the individual performances or outline the plot here, since many excellent descriptive and detailed reviews have already been posted by much more accomplished movie reviewers than myself. However, while we seldom return to see a movie for the second time while in theatrical release, we were in the mood for some lighthearted and relaxing entertainment this weekend and when my wife saw that a SING ALONG version had just been released, we decided to attend. I had no preconceptions of how it would affect our experience, but was enjoyed that added feature tremendously. The movie "wears well" upon a repeat viewing; in fact, knowing what to expect was actually an advantage - the anticipation of the truly hilarious sequences and our favorite songs added to the good time. The SING ALONG aspect is accomplished by a large but unobtrusive insertion of the lyrics at the bottom of the screen, one line at a time in white letters. As the song proceeds the letters are actually gradually colorized as you sing along. Our only disappointment was that more of the audience who attended our showing didn't sing along, although this may have been partially due to the fact that the majority of them obviously were seeing the film for the first time. (As an aside, this feature should work very well when the DVD is released and make this a great party movie.)


In summary, my rating of almost five stars is based on our enjoyment of multiple viewings of the film. Go prepared to laugh and to sing along. As one of the climactic and few serious songs says, this "WINNER TAKES IT ALL".

Tucker Andersen

Well worth seeing
I saw the stage play several years ago, and loved it. There were no famous names in it, just excellent music and a fun story. I was dubious about the movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Take into account that none of the cast are professional singers, and I think they did pretty well. Some people have stated that Meryl Streep is not a good singer, but I have to vehemently disagree, I think she is excellent, great range, great emotion and she can hold a note. She was fantastic in the movie, she put so much energy into the role, totally belying her age. Pierce Brosnan did not do himself justice with his singing, but that said, I think he made a valiant effort, he obviously put a lot of emotion into it and his singing was certainly no worse than Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard, or Julie Walters, for that matter. I've been a big fan of hers for a long long time, and she is certainly no singer, but again, a great effort, and the whole cast obviously had an absolute blast making the movie, and quite honestly, I wish I was there with them. I will certainly be going to see this movie again, and will be getting it on DVD as soon as it is available. It's a thoroughly enjoyable movie, even if you don't like Abba, it's fun, energetic, has some great one liners and comedic antics, and the storyline, while not the most original, certainly brings the movie together and lines up the opportunities for some great Abba songs.