Not Getting Off the Soapbox

coffeecat

     I don't want to write about the new Batman film.  Everyone knows it's a box office smash for only one reason -- Heath Ledger.  Heh.

So, I will focus my attention on Mamma Mia! The Movie.

This is one film that the BF absolutely refuses to go see with me.  I've managed to make him watch Sex & the City, but he draws the line on this one.  I had to enlist the services of my sister. 

My Waterloo, is the songs in ABBA Gold (the greatest hits album).  Because I hung out with my Auntie and her London friends a lot while I was in the UK, I guess their love for ABBA rubbed off on me.  They played the CD at home, in the car and we also watched the musical at the West End.  Knowing Me, Knowing You was particularly dedicated to one of their friends who had an affair in their earlier years together.

The musical was lots of fun, people in the audience imagined themselves as the Dancing Queen during the encore, singing & dancing with the cast.

ABBA had been so prolific with their songwriting that someone had managed to string all the songs together to make story out of them.  So I say Thank You for the Music to the Swedish group for writing sickenly sweet songs.

The film is set in a remote Greek island and stars Meryl Streep as the mother of a bride-to-be, who has invited 3 men to her wedding -- any one of which is possibly her long-lost father.  It starts with the bride (forgot who she is) singing I Have A Dream.

Streep can carry a tune but Brosnan was just awful !!!

The film was very much the same as the musical it was based on -- except for the singing.  It the film, it was rather dreadful.  It's silently crying out S.O.S.

It was an all-star cast, but they might have been better off casting unknowns, to be honest.  However, Streep did manage to make a moving scene while singing The Winner Takes It All.  The Chiquitita sure can act.

The Meditteranean setting was just breathtaking... if not for the subtitles.

Yes, my friends.  The film had subtitles for the bits where the people sang.  It disappeared when they spoke, but returned when they resume singing.

I guess the people making this film wanted to replicate the sing-along atmosphere that the musical exuded, but the subtitles are just plain awkward and just ruined my appreciation of the scenery.

To sum it all up, the film is like a very camp Charlie & the Chocolate Factory -- very sweet but gives the impression that a disco ball is twirling in the cinema the whole time.

But do I like it?  I Do, I Do, I Do.

If you're familiar with ABBA, Take a Chance on Mamma Mia!  If not, then just be a Super Trouper and go see it for fun.  If you do, Does Your Mother Know?  Because she might want to come along, probably with  Fernando if she knows someone by that name.  Money, Money, Money may be an issue, but I'm sure you'll work something out.

And with that, Lord please Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)!  Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away?

I spout a lot of rubbish sometimes and today's no exception!