Seen on: July 19, 2008
The players: Director: Phyllida Lloyd, Writers: Catherine Johnson, Cast: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Julie Walter, Stellan Skarsgard
Facts of interest: Based on the hit musical "Mamma Mia!"
The plot: A bride-to-be (Seyfried) tries to uncover the identity of her real father by inviting the three possible candidates to her wedding.
Our quick thoughts: Phyllida Lloyd debuts onscreen after directing "Mamma Mia!" on stage. This however didn’t certify a marvelous representation of the musical on the big screen. As a first-time director, Lloyd was lucky enough to be able to work with top-notch actors, who in some scenes deliver fantastic performances and in others simply ridicule themselves.
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is a 20-year-old bride-to-be who lives with her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) on an exotic Greek island. Her biggest dream is to be given away at the altar by her father, but the problem is she's never met him before. But when she stumbles across her mother’s journal and learns that she has three potential dads, she quickly invites them to her wedding in order to find out who of them will fulfill her dream.
Using plenty of dream sequences and fast-paced editing, Lloyd quickly verges on overuse and borderline silliness, which is not at all necessary in representing the famous lyrics by Anderson and Ulvaeus. I really expected full blown-out numbers from a musical like this one, but when it has men jumping up and down on a dock or Meryl Streep standing in front of a yacht with pals on waverunners behind her, I'm not that sure whether the rendition of "Mamma Mia!" was ever destined to hit the big screen.
Freaky quote: “In fact she was the last woman I ever loved” - Colin Firth
The final word: For it being a musical about finding yourself, letting go of the past and accepting love, the songs are what keeps the movie on its feet. With some numbers that will make you smile, hum or laugh, "Mamma Mia!" is one that could be just as entertaining if one were to stay at home and listen to the soundtrack.
Article by Jesus Gil