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‘Mamma Mia,’ that’s-a dopey movie!
Before the ABBA musical came along, the phrase “mamma mia” always reminded me of the classic Alka Seltzer ad with the actor filming a commercial and blowing take after take saying, “Mamma mia, that’s-a spicy meatball.”
Unfortunately, after seeing Mamma Mia! the movie, I felt like I needed a good, tall fizzy glass of the stuff. I didn’t hate the film, but I will say that when the credits rolled, I was glad to get out of there.
I understand that the movie wants to be a fun, bubbly affirmation of life. It’s like the feminine version of the old Fast Times at Ridgemont High catch phrase: “Hey, chick - let’s party!” But while everyone around me was having a ball, I felt like slinking off to the corner and ducking out of sight.
However, the fact that the film is more than a little girlish isn’t what bothered me the most. I expected it to be an estrogen haven. However, I also expect musicals to be well filmed, and Mamma Mia! is not. I never imagined that a movie set in the Greek islands could look ugly, but Mamma Mia! does.
Why? Because the bulk of it wasn’t filmed on the Greek islands. Some scenes were filmed on location, but it was very obvious to me that most of the movie was shot on a soundstage, with digital backdrops filling in for the islands. Call me a purist, but that’s not my idea of romance.
An even bigger problem is that the producers insisted that the director of the stage show be allowed to direct the film, and Phyllida Lloyd didn’t know how. There are way too many distracting “Look ma, I’m a director” shots that kept taking me out of the story and focusing my attention on how Lloyd was trying really, really hard to have a high old time.
It’s really a shame, because if you asked me now if I would like to see the stage show of Mamma Mia!, I would still go. The story, about a young girl (Amanda Seyfried) who invites her three potential fathers (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) to her wedding, has a certain charm, and I do like some ABBA songs. You’ll never catch me buying an album of theirs, but my ears can’t help but perk up to the likes of “Dancing Queen” and “Waterloo.”
Despite Lloyd’s awkward direction, at times I almost sailed with Mamma Mia! because the cast brings so much energy to it. Meryl Streep, playing the young girl’s mom, mugs a little too much, but she has an ebullience that can’t be denied. Seyfried has the best voice of everyone, and I was saddened she wasn’t given more to do. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters as Samantha and Miranda … uh, I mean Streep’s gal pals are fun to watch, as are the men. Pierce Brosnan plays his role with such sincerity that I forgave him for the fact that he can’t sing.
But by the time Mamma Mia! stacked about five different badly written and directed endings on top of each other, and I didn’t care about any of them, I realized the movie wasn’t for me. I’m sure some female readers think that I’m incapable of having fun at this movie because I’m a man. I would counter by saying that I saw Sex and the City and liked it - and Mamma Mia! made the feminine Fab Four look positively studly.
No, if I want a fun movie that makes great use of ABBA songs, I’ll turn instead to a charming little film called Muriel’s Wedding that doesn’t shout “HAVE FUN!!!” in my face like a drunk gal at a party. Oh, what a relief that will be.
GRADE: C
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