AFTER WATCHING the West-End version of this musical a few years ago, I was quite sceptical of the film version living up to the same expectations.
But as soon as the film began, all critical notions were blown away by Meryl Streep and the rest of the all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation.
Everything about Mamma Mia! was excellent - the singing, costumes, and comical acting were amazing – and the catchy music reiterated in everyone’s mind exactly why ABBA’s timeless lyrics are adored by fans all over the world.
The musical itself has been seen by more than 30 million people, in 160 cities, and eight languages around the world, so the film definitely had a lot to live up to.
After reading her mother’s diary, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried ) discovers that her father could be one of three different men, all ex-boyfriends of her mother (Meryl Streep ).
Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Stellan Skarsgård play the three potential fathers to Sophie, who is eager to find her real dad. She secretly invites them to attend her wedding day on the gorgeous Greek Island where her mother runs a hotel.
For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best friends - practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters ) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski ) - both from her one-time backing band, Donna and The Dynamos. The two friends are absolutely hilarious, and bring ABBA songs like ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘SOS’, to ‘Money, Money, Money’, and ‘Take A Chance on Me’ brilliantly into their roles.
Aside from Pierce Brosnan’s sometimes cheesy acting, the three men all prove to be very good singers and play their parts extremely well, especially the dryly-funny Colin Firth.
