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Monday, July 14, 2008
Guess what?? ‘Mamma Mia’ is a musical!
So there’s a new movie musical coming out Friday, but you’d never guess it from the previews.
It’s Mamma Mia, whose ads make it look like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Actually in Greece This Time! However, people familiar with showbiz know the title is a musical featuring the songs of ABBA.
So yes, Meryl Streep sings! And so do Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard! And I believe some of them dance too!
So why is Universal trying to hide that fact? I haven’t seen a single ad with anything resembling a musical number. If there is such an ad, it hasn’t been shown much. And that makes no sense to me.
Paramount took basically the same tact with Sweeney Todd last year, obscuring the fact that Johnny Depp can carry a tune - and quite well, at that. But as dishonest as that strategy was, it was understandable. A certain segment of Johnny Depp’s audience believes that if they get stuck at a musical, they will no longer be able to breed. And given the mindset, maybe that’s all for the better.
However, Mamma Mia’s target audience is predominantly female, and women usually have not been so quick to reject musicals as men. I’ve heard more than one person refer to Mamma Mia as “this year’s Hairspray.” Hairspray was a big hit last year - and that film didn’t hide the fact that it was a musical at all!
So I don’t get it. Do you? Did you know Mamma Mia was a musical? And now that you do, does that make you more or less inclined to see it?
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