So just got back from “Mamma Mia.” I enjoyed it, and if you’ve seen the Broadway show and liked it, then I think you’ll like the movie. If you’ve never seen the show . . . . well . . . . I don’t know. Three women were sitting next to me who loved Abba but hadn’t seen it and they liked it. Whether you like it will depend on three things I think. I think you need to 1) really like Abba 2) accept that this movie is going to be cheesy (as in so far over the top cheesy) on purpose and 3) accept that they cast Pierce Brosnan for looks and appeal to a certain age of woman and clearly not his ability to sing (which he can’t, at all, even though he tried, really hard).
The storyline from the show is all there. I won’t give anything away, though honestly it’s pretty much given away in the trailers really. That’s about it, a wedding and three possible dads. There are some twists along the way. I really like what they did with Collin’s character in the movie, and the audience also thought it was hilarious.
The audience seemed to like it over all. There was clapping, laughter and singing. One girl started dancing during the credits, I think trying to get others to join her.
Because a lot of people found my old “Mamma Mia” post through Googling what had been changed, here is a list of things I can recall . . . .
“Knowing Me, Knowing You” and “Under Attack” are both gone. “Name Of The Game” will appear on the DVD as an extra. This was a last minute edit, it apparently appeared in previews last month in San Francisco. “Thank You For The Music” runs during the closing credits and is not in the show. “I Do, I Do, I Do,” while not on the soundtrack, is in there. So is “Chiquita,” which is one of the best numbers of the whole film.
Added in was the song “When All Is Said And Done.” However unlike on the soundtrack where it’s a duet, it’s basically just Pierce singing it in the movie.
“Take A Chance On Me” is moved around from when it appears in the show. Rather than happening right before the wedding (the characters are setting chairs) it happens at the celebration dinner for Donna and Sam (which isn’t in the show). This I thought was a good move mainly because they needed something big and well known to sorta close the movie out (I always thought “I Do, I Do, I Do” wasn’t the strongest thing to basically go out on).
“Gimme Gimme Gimme” seemed to have been truncated a bit in the movie I thought to allow for too much talking between the characters of Sophie and Sam.
Oh and yes, the encores of “Dancing Queen” and “Waterloo” are there EXACTLY as they are in the show. I won’t say anymore because this is the funny treat of the film/show if you’ve never seen it.
Aww – thank you Dustin! You ROCK! You and me might be two peas in a pod, and I’m OK with that. I don’t care if other people didn’t like the movie…I LOVED it and I am going again in about an hour to see it a second time. I agree with absolutely everything you said in your summation here. Yes, the show is cheesy, but it’s cheesy on stage as well and that’s part of its universal appeal. Overall, very very well done and I will be the first in line to buy the DVD when it’s available. Glad to know I have a buddy out there who enjoyed the movie as much as I did. (((HUGS))) 🙂
I’m glad you liked it. My cousin is a HUGE Abba fan. She would make me listen to their music all the time when I was little. I did not join in her love of all things Abba. But I will tell her that you thought the movie was good and I’m sure she’d enjoy it. Thanks for the review 🙂
Dustin, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but I wanted to see it cause it looked cute and was a musical and I don’t want to see so many of the movies that are in the (main stream) theaters now. But I LOVED it! Too cute, too funny!
Sophie with her friends in the beginning (and her mama with hers) remind me of my sisters and me. Yes, my family is crazy. My two sisters once had a dance off in the middle of the day downtown on opposite sides of the street on the main street in our nice shopping district. LOL
A lot of people in our theater were laughing the first time Pierce started singing by himself.
I’m not sure I like the idea of listening to Pierce sing, but I love ABBA and I really want to see this movie. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the review!
Better late than never. I just saw Mamma Mia yesterday with my Mom. All I can say is AWESOME! I will probably go see it again. I urge anyone who hasn’t seen it to go directly to the cinema! The audience I was with loved it and was laughing, clapping and wanting to dance as well. On the way out, these two mature ladies were talking about how they always wanted to go to Greece and now they really wanted to go. I thought to myself, yes, the movie was great but those extras were actors then I pictured them going and seeing a bunch of hairy fishermen. So I proceeded to the exit giggling.