DVD Review: Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! The Movie is an unprecedented worldwide phenomenon that continues to break records around the world. To date, it is the most successful movie musical of all time worldwide.

Seen on stage by over 32 million people around the world, the global smash hit stage production of MAMMA MIA!, is celebrating more than 7 years on Broadway and is currently playing record-breaking engagements in Las Vegas and on National Tour in the United States. There are currently 8 productions of MAMMA MIA! running around the world (6 resident productions and 2 tours).

An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Meryl Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she’s raised alone. For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends – practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski) – from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna’s past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities. Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s hit songs from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.” to “Money, Money, Money” and “Take a Chance on Me,” Mamma Mia! The Movie is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.

Review:
Mamma Mia! tells the story of young bride to be Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who desperately wants her father to give her away at her wedding. After finding her mother’s diary, she concludes that there are three possible men who may be her father. The movie opens with her mailing invitations to all of them in hope that if they come to her wedding, she will know which one is her father as soon as she sees him. It’s a solid plan, until all three of them show up together, and Sophie doesn’t have a clue which one is her actual father.

It’s a cute story and definitely a chick flick. Don’t try to get your boyfriend to sit through this with you, because it won’t happen. Perhaps a bit over the top in parts, it’s interesting and refreshing to see actors such as Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan take on roles so different from the ones we normally see them in. Amanda Seyfried was an absolute delight as Sophie, and without question the best singer in the film, though I was pleasantly surprised by Meryl Streep’s voice as well. Pierce Brosnan should have left the singing to the rest of the cast as he is definitely the weakest singer of the bunch.

The film as a whole looks great. The locations are absolutely stunning. It will make you want to stop the movie and book a trip to Greece. The movie itself is a bit fluffy, which is the only real problem I had with it. I’m not a huge fan of this adaptation, and I generally really enjoy movie musicals. This one was just average in my book. I think as a slumber party movie or a movie for mother and daughters to sit back and enjoy, it’s the perfect film. The music and the cast is what make the film; without those two elements, the film would have fallen flat. In the end though, it will leave you smiling and singing ABBA songs for days.

As far as extras, this release is loaded with behind the scene featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” music video, the making of Mamma Mia! featurette, and a ton more!

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: B
Official site: http://www.mammamiamovie.com/
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