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Mamma Mia at the flicks

Film // Vanessa // 24th July 2008

I have finally found the recipe for the best girlie movie ever.

Fiercely romantic, hilarious, male totty (young and slightly older), a simple story mixed together with lots of Abba songs, singing and dancing and wacky costumes on a sunny Greek island.

Oh yes, and lots of cocktails.

If you like to sound of this then you'll love Mamma Mia!

What makes it one of the best films I have seen for......hmmm.....quite a while I should think, is that it's just lots of fun. The story doesn't take itself too seriously and neither to the actors, which is good news because it would have been quite an embarrassing career move for Pierce Brosnan if he couldn't laugh about his singing in the film.

It is pretty terrible and it sounds like he is straining a bit, but you love him for it, and love the fact this Hollywood film has taken a break from the plastic world of perfection this once.

I was worried when I first got into the cinema because everyone (mostly female) seemed over 45 years old (my company of five other ladies excluded of course). I thought I would like it, but not a lot, as the saying goes. But Mamma Mia had me hooked from the word go. I have not seen the stage show so didn't know what to expect but, as you have guessed, I was not disappointed.

The simple plotline probably helped – a 20-year-old girl (her name escapes me now but the actress is rather beautiful – bitch!) finds a free-spirited man of her dreams and is getting married to him on a glorious Greek island where it seems it is always bright and sunny.

Of course the girl wants her dad there but she doesn't know who it is, so invites three men (Pierce Brosnan as Sam, Colin Firth as Harry and Stellan Skarsgard as Ben) named in her mum's diary (written at around the time she conceived the girl), in the hope she'll clap eyes on him and know which one it is.
Surprise, surprise, she doesn't, but it makes for hilarious goings on in the days leading up to the wedding and particularly because her mum has no idea the girl invited them.

The star of the show is Meryl Streep by a long way. Playing Donna, the over-worked mum who got pregnant and brought up her daughter alone, she was natural in the role and has sings her heart of magnificently. Julie Walters was quirky in a way only Julie Walters can be, but she was great anyway.

Dancing Queen was never one of my favourite Abba songs but it could well be now. What started as a funny duet ended with a real sense of girl power (most definitely not in the Spice Girls way). There were tears, too, with quite a sad turn by Streep when she sang Winner Takes It All to a silent Brosnan (thankfully).

But the emotional bits don't last long and it was soon back to fun, laughter and revelations and songs that made you want to get up and dance (well, maybe not Jim).

I could tell the audience in the cinema was itching to get up, shake that booty and sing along but British reserve held strong, even in Braintree, which was a shame.

I know Mamma Mia the film will stand the test of time and will eventually appear in one of those Channel 5 Greatest Girlie Flicks Ever-type shows hosted by Vanessa Feltz or someone equally publicity-seeking. I, for one, have already put the DVD on my Christmas/birthday list (whichever is first).