Now, before i review this I just want to say I am currently watching “Carlito’s Way” and like nothing better than a good full-on action flick but sometimes in life and marriage you have to compromise… and after taking my wife to the new Indiana Jones film I knew she would expect me to repay the favour someday.
That day arrived last week when the immortal line “I wanna see Mamma Mia!” led me to be in a cinema Friday afternoon surrounded by middle aged Abba wannabes to see the film adaptation of the hen night favourite musical.
I wasn’t full of huge expectation for the film, all I knew was I liked some Abba songs and Meryl Streep and the old James Bond aka Pierce Brosnan were in it.
Following a number of chick flick trailers we were instantly transported to a Greek island where anxious bride Sophie (played superbly by Amanda Seyfried) invites three men (the unlikely trio, and of similar singing prowess, of Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard) who could be her father to her wedding in Greece, unbeknownst to her single mother Donna (an OTT but unbelievable performance from Meryl Streep).
What follows is the level of cheese that is rarely seen outside of a fromagery. And I have to admit it I really enjoyed it… the main reason for this is that for every tutt and sigh you direct at the dialogue or the plot, the film gives it right back because it knows it’s cheesy, it knows it’s nothing more than a Hollywood A-list karaoke night, an excuse to sing lots of Abba tunes at the top of it’s voice and it doesn’t care.
Even when Pierce Brosnan attempts to sing “SOS” and only manages a raspy Italian Springsteen impression you just think, “Well, he’s trying hard!” and just want him to get better, which he does by the time we reach the film’s finale.
But the real star of the film is Meryl Streep who outshines everyone else and in all seriousness this is a complete reinvention for her and being best friend’s with Cher has really seemed to help her singing voice.
The film flies by with cheeky blink and you’ll miss them Abba cameos and by the end of the encore of Waterloo with all key cast members including Brosnan in sequinned jumpsuits, you realise to hate this film is pretty futile. And you’ll leave the cinema wth a silly smile on your face, humming Dancing Queen for the millionth time in your life.
However, as soon as I got home and the smile had dropped, I turned to my wife and said, “I wanna see Dark Knight!” As I say, marriage is all about compromise, just hope she forgets about that Brideshead Revisited trailer:-)
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August 1st, 2008 at 3:35 pm
latest news on colin firth
August 10th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I read similar article also named ia - here I go again! | the Movie Space, and it was completely different. Personally, I agree with you more, because this article makes a little bit more sense for me
August 25th, 2008 at 5:50 am
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