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Movies / On DVD / Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!

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Mamma Mia! (2008)

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Reviews Counted:169

Fresh:90

Rotten:79

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and a campy tone might not make you feel like "You Can Dance" the whole 90 minutes.

Australian Rating: PG [See Full Rating] Mild sexual references and coarse language

Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 10, 2008 Wide

US Box Office: $143,704,210

Synopsis: After its run as a West End hit in London, MAMMA MIA became a Broadway smash when it opened in New York back in 2001. With a story framed around the music of the Swedish pop band Abba, crowds loved... After its run as a West End hit in London, MAMMA MIA became a Broadway smash when it opened in New York back in 2001. With a story framed around the music of the Swedish pop band Abba, crowds loved its raucous, dance party vibe. Now it comes to the silver screen, with some truly delightful performances from the likes of Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. It is the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) a young woman living on a picturesque Greek island with her mother, Donna (Streep.) Together, Donna and Sophie run a ramshackle island inn, and they are in the midst of preparing for Sophie's wedding. As the wedding approaches, Sophie becomes troubled by the fact that she has never known her father. She was the result of one of her mother's summer flings, and her mother has never revealed her father's identity. When Sophie stumbles upon her mother's diary, she learns that there are three possible men who could be her dad. Without telling her mother, she invites all three to her wedding. When Harry (Colin Firth), Sam (Brosnan), and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) all arrive at the same time, Donna is of course shocked and overwhelmed by seeing her old lovers again after such a long time. She turns to her two best friends, Tanya (Christine Baranaki) and Rosie (Julia Walters), for their support, and vows to just get through the wedding and weekend. Meanwhile, Sophie spends time with each man, determined to learn the truth. Major hijinks and confusion ensues, all amidst the utterly romance scenery, and the rather irresistible, swelling love ballads. Streep has a lovely singing voice, and to watch her throw herself into this whimsical role is truly a delight. She looks like she is having a ball, and it is hard not to shimmy along with her. Baranski reliably delivers an over-the-top showstopper, and Brosnan's tender singing voice makes his character all the more touching. The film strives to be a jubilant celebration of mother/daughter relationships and the love between good friends, and no matter how cheesy some may find Abba, it is hard to resist its many charms. [More]

Starring: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried

Starring: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Screenwriter: Catherine Johnson
Producer: Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman
Composer: Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Reviews for Mamma Mia!

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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ABBA's legacy will stand the test of time far longer than this

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
09/11/08
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Perhaps your enjoyment will depend on how much you like the songs (I’m not a huge ABBA fan), but the great thing about this film is its joyousness.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment 3 Comments
07/18/08
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A film that actually earns the exclamation mark that adorns its title, thanks to the exuberance that Streep and her co-stars bring to the job of reviving the rituals of the movie musical.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment 2 Comments
07/11/08
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This joyous frolic propelled and inspired by the timeless music of ABBA is a bit like Grease for the older set, with Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan playing the leading roles

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
07/05/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Betsy Sherman
Betsy Sherman
Boston Phoenix

You can have a perfectly nice time watching this spirited adaptation of the popular stage musical and, once the hangover wears off, acknowledge just how bad it is.

comment 7 Comments
07/17/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

On the scale of Celebrities Who Can't Sing, [Brosnan]'s a few notches above Lee Marvin in Paint Your Wagon but falls short of the vocal skills of Burt Reynolds in At Long Last Love.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
07/15/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

If you're invited, you might as well enjoy yourself. Just don't say I didn't warn you. And don't you dare say I hate ABBA.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/18/08
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

like cotton candy, unsubstantial, brightly colored, way too sweet, and ultimately unsatisfying in any meaningful way. Plus it might just make you just a little nauseous

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment 2 Comments
07/16/08
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

Nusicals traditionally rely rather heavily on things like singing and dancing; but what stage director Phyllida Lloyd throws onto the screen could better be described as "singing" and "dancing."

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment 4 Comments
08/01/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Mamma Mia! presents itself as a piece of clever counter-programming to this summer's surfeit of pounding, effects-driven comic-book movies. But filmgoers eager to sample its sunny, synth-pop pleasures are likely to feel just as bludgeoned.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/17/08
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The legal definition of torture has been much aired in recent years, and I take Mamma Mia! to be a useful contribution to that debate.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment 5 Comments
07/21/08
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The new film version of the Broadway musical Mamma Mia! seems to be made by people who have no instinctive connection to pop music.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment 3 Comments
07/16/08
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

Would be more persuasive if you felt any real chemistry between Streep and Brosnan. But how could you? They've been singing ABBA songs at each other for two hours.

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
07/17/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

Miscast, poorly shot, possibly choreographed by a spastic eight-year-old, Mamma Mia! is a mess, but it's kind of an impressive mess.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment 5 Comments
07/20/08
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

By turns entertaining and excruciating, Mamma Mia!, the jukebox musical that strings together 19 ABBA hits on a narrative thread flimsier than dental floss, had me smiling and wincing, often at the same time.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
07/17/08
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Mamma Mia! is a sloppy, overwrought mess of a musical, but then those darn ABBA songs pop up and all is bliss for the next three minutes.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
07/19/08
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
Washington Times

If Mamma Mia! works on any level at all, it's through the sheer radiance of Meryl Streep.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
07/15/08
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

Meryl Streep scampers and writhes with something like abandon in her tomboyish overalls, her glowing tan and perfectly arranged "wild" blond hair indicating Donna's stanch independence.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/18/08
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

This film version of Mamma Mia! is such a full-scale disaster in every way that it's hard to know what has held theatergoers' attention for so long.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment 6 Comments
07/13/08
Dan Callahan
Dan Callahan
Slant Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Mamma Mia!

February 04, 2009: Exclusive: Inside Pinewood/Shepperton - A Photo Tour
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