Just how much I’ve missed you!

Mamma Mia! is a sing-along movie. So much so that I expected to see lyrics at the bottom of the screen, with a bouncing beach ball keeping tempo. Even if all you know is the title song and “Dancing Queen,” like me, you will find yourself tapping your foot and smiling through many of the musical numbers.

As a whole, Mamma Mia! doesn’t really work. It’s a ridiculous melo-dramedy that befits the stage, perhaps, but you can’t expect too much of it. It’s better to look at it in bits and pieces, so I’ll do it that service.

THE CONS

1. Back in the day, actors and actresses were classically trained. Most of them could sing. Nowadays, casting a musical, you are left with two options: cast unknowns, or cast people who can’t carry a tune in a bucket. Pierce Brosnan falls into the latter category, and for some reason they decided to make him the male character with the most songs.

2. Certain parts of the movie leave the viewer with an intense feeling of awkwardness. I’m not sure what it is, exactly. Even Meryl Streep, who is otherwise impressive, does some very strange and unsettling choreography, writhing and hurling herself around the set and repeatedly grabbing her stomach (to symbolize her pregnancy with Sophie? Who knows?). Her performance of “The Winner Takes It All,” while emotionally charged, is a notable low point: she stands and gestures at Pierce Brosnan, who can do nothing but stick his hands in his pockets and sort of react with his facial expressions. Earth to director Phyllida Loyd: You’re in a MOVIE. Go ahead and make them move around a little. Doing that Matrix-style 360 with the camera while Meryl screams isn’t doing much for me.

3. Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep, the two characters who are supposed to stay together at movie’s end, have as much chemistry as glazed donuts.

4. Overall? This story wasn’t meant to be a film, and Phyllida Loyd certainly wasn’t meant to direct it.

THE PROS

1. Amanda Seyfried is charming and passionate as Sophie, the girl who just wants to find her father. In fact, the whole cast is good when they’re not singing or dancing, a task at which too many of them seem to fail. The chemistry amongst the three fathers is touching and funny, and each one’s relationship with Sophie is perfect and unique.

2. Amanda and Meryl can sing.

3. There is a scene in which Meryl Streep’s two friends, played by Julie Walters (of Harry Potter and Educating Rita fame) and Christine Baranski, attempt to cheer her with memories of her wild youth. All rise up, throw on makeshift costumes, and sing “Dancing Queen” while parading through the town. As they pass, women of all ages drop what they are doing and, for one glorious moment, share in the spotlight that comes with being seventeen and free. And if you, sitting in that dark theater, are not swept into that moment too, you have a heart of stone.

4. The movie looks great. Much of it was filmed on location in Greece, and the setting is as beautiful as one could hope for.

To summarize: Mamma Mia! is deeply flawed, but still something you might enjoy taking your mom to (if you’re a girl, of course). It’s probably no fun for dads and boyfriends, but hey. Who needs them anyway?

Popularity: 3% [?]