I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot ...
I enjoy writing about all sorts really. I love travel and am pregnant at the moment so expect a lot of baby reviews to come. I also post on Dooyoo under the name Whizz11
Member since:07.09.2007
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If you love Abba, Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep then this is the film for you.
Mama Mia the undoubted hit of 2008, is a stage-to-film adaptation of the 1999 West End musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music also composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson. The film did very well at the box office becoming the highest grossing film musical of all time and also became the most successful British film ever in United Kingdom.
I did like this film although I did not go crazy over it like a lot of people did, I heard stories of big groups of people going to the cinema and all singing along to the movie, no, not me, but I did like it.
With any type of musical film you wonder how they are going to link the songs to the story because sometimes you get films that have a story and then the launch into these songs that don’t really have anything to do with the theme at all.
However, Mama Mia was quite different. I thought the songs fit in very very well with the storyline and really added to the story and made it more interesting actually. For example, Meryl Streep runs and old guest house/hotel that she is forever having to repair and she doesn’t really have sufficient finances for it. When she is telling her friends this story she begins to sing, Money, Money , Money, a song with lyrics like, “if I had a little money, must be funny, in a rich mans world,” etc, etc, and I just thought it fit perfectly. It is this way with most of the other songs too so I was really impressed with how they linked everything although I did read that some of the songs are new renditions and some of the words have been altered to better fit the plot.
The basic story goes like this. The film is set in Greece, on the fictional island of Kalokairi. 20 year old Sophie reads her mothers diary and finds out she has three possible dads. She is getting married soon and decides to invite all the men to the wedding in the hopes that she will find out which one is her real father. She has never met any of them before and was conceived during a summer of love. She confides in her friends but does not tell her mother. All of the men actually turn up to the island because they have never really forgotten her mother and the rest of the film basically shows the build up to the wedding, the actual wedding and the aftermath. Will Sophie find out who her father is, will her mother get over the shock of seeing the guys again? You will have to watch the movie to find out.
Sophie’s mother, Donna, is played by Meryl Streep. She was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Actress but did not win. I thought she put in a good performance, she really was a big character in the movie but she’s not one of my favourite actresses. I thought she also looked quite old in the movie but I guess that was the part she was playing, a stressed out hotel owner.
Sophie was played by Amanda Seyfried. She’s a very pretty, sweet looking girl and I think this was one of her first films as I have not seen her in anything else before. She played the part of a sweet, innocent girl very well. In real life she is rumoured to be dating her co-star and fiancée in the movie, Dominic Cooper.
The three fathers were my favourite parts. They had to act scenes together quite a bit and made for quite a funny comedy trio. They were played by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård. Pierce Brosnan had a bit bigger of a role than the other two and in my opinion w as great. The thing I liked about his performance was that he didn’t take himself too seriously. He couldn’t sing at all but gave it a good go and was really hilarious. In fact he won a Worst Supporting Actor award at the 2009 Razzie Awards!
Probably the highlight of the film for me was the absolutely gorgeous scenery, all sun, sea and gorgeous beaches. It was filmed on the small Greek island of Skopelos and really made me want to visit; it looked like such an idyllic lifestyle!
What I liked about this movie is that it didn’t try to be more than it was, it didn’t try to be sophisticated or complicated, it was just fun. It was a great feel good, sing a long movie, one that did definitely get your toes tapping even if you’re not a great Abba fan and one I would definitely see again.
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Music / Performing Arts, Comedy - Director: Trevor Nunn, Geoffrey Posner - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, Parental Guidance - Starring: Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, Julie Walters, Victoria Wood, Jim Broadbent
The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing ... more
"Dancing Queen" is one of the high points ofMamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing ... more
"Dancing Queen" is one of the high points ofMamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie ...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Funny, warm, great cast, great songs, a real feel-good film that will make you smile Disadvantages: Very slightly inferior to the stage version
KarenUK 21.07.2008 (21.07.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Mamma Mia!
Advantages: Good songs, some of the cast are having fun Disadvantages: Poor singing; invisible choreography; badly written script; miscast actors; you want more?
Seresecros 01.09.2008 (01.09.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Mamma Mia!
![Mamma Mia! [DVD] [2008]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/81500191.jpg "Mamma Mia! [DVD] [2008]")
Mar 13th, 2009
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