"Mamma Mia!" Psychotic Fun and Not a Chance in Hell

Genres: Musical/Performing Arts and Adaptation Release
Date: July 18th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
Distributors: Universal Pictures Distribution

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd

JJ Rating: C+

Donna (Meryl Streep) has a daughter named Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who wants to know who her father is. She reads her mother's diary and finds three possible answers. She invites all three to her wedding and all the while every three seconds they sing an ABBA song. Mamma Mia!

Ok, so it's not ever three seconds but it sure the hell felt like it. The saving grace of this film was Meryl Streep, Julie Walters (played Rosie) and Christine Baranski (played Tanya). Otherwise the movie grated on the nerves of me like nails across a chalk board. They were so funny together and they made the movie. The old people made the movie. The young people (with a single old) destroyed the movie.

I like Pierce Brosnan but his singing was so boring. Amanda Seyfried had eyes that freaked me out and made me think of serial killers who smile as they slaughter people and then laugh as they call the cops to chit chat about what they just accomplished. Colin Firth was genius and allowed me not to feel the total hatred of this film. He's always good in whatever part he partakes in. I had no doubt I'd be entertained by him.

The choreography was just horrid. When Dominic Cooper (who played Sky) had his number and they had to dance on the pier with several other guys it was like watching the gay rejects from "So You Think You Can Dance?" giving their all. During this atrocity to the eyes, one would wish for the clown from the Night at the Apollo come out and shoo them off the screen. The whole movie was dripped in female stuff. Everything had to be feminine. It was stifling. Dancing doesn't have to cater to one sex over the other. It could have been a bit more balanced.

It's a C+ because of the old people. Had it not been for them I would have died during that film and they would have charged Mamma Mia! with murder in the first. The ending was so lame. Cheese was oozing out of every single line and if my eyes rolled any more than they were I would have been puking my brains from the lack of any real gritty feeling.

Mamma Mia! lacked the kind of good humor fun that Hairspray had in spades last year. This movie just could not pull that off. It had its moments because the old people had more life than anyone that was below the age of 30, with the exception of Brosnan.

I could not stomach seeing this film ever again. I don't dislike ABBA, either; I just find this movie poorly done. This film had the storyline and Across the Universe had the singing. Now if they are to do another musical they need to combine the two to have something that is actually worth watching. But I'm probably in the sordid minority with this movie as a male, of course, liking musicals is a bit of a questionable thing. I don't need to have PC fun with that.

To me this film was psychotic in more ways than one. It was too over the top, too cheese, too silly, too lacking in singing talent, too big eyed OH MY GOD moments, too corny and lacking of true heart. It had the potential to give it all, but I got nothing.

The last scene of the movie uses the song "Take a Chance on Me" and it was one of my favorite parts of the film. It was a good movie in parts and I think that that last song would be good to leave a line from. Because it's like begging people to return to come back and to tell other people to take a chance that maybe they will have fun watching this sing-a-long ABBA fan like musical. I just shouldn't have taken a chance, but maybe you will. If you change your mind/ I'm the first in line. /Honey I'm still free/take a chance on me/ If you need me/ let me know/gonna be around. /If you've got no place to go/ if you're feeling down/ if you're all alone/ when the pretty birds have flown/ honey I'm still free/ Take a chance on me.