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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: Comedies

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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101 - 120 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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What happened to James Bond?? I honestly wanted to be a "Dancing Queen" and dance right out of the theatre. Mamma Mia! is one of the most awkward, poorly acted and just laughably bad musicals to date.

Full Review Source: WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) | comment 2 Comments
07/18/08
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
WJFK-FM (CBS Radio)

[N]one of the nonsensicalness would matter if the movie would let me get caught up in it, but that hardly happened, much as I wished it would...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
07/18/08
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Moving and fun and scenic and ecstatic, and we cried too. I hope you take a chance take a take a chance chance on Mamma Mia even if you think you won't like it.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
07/17/08
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Stage director Phyllida Lloyd should kneel and kiss the feet of her cast who persist in entertaining us despite every roadblock she throws in their way.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
07/17/08
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

When singing S.O.S. I couldn't decide if he [Pierce Brosnan] was begging to be rescued from the song or the movie. Personally--I would have chosen the movie.

Full Review Source: Tri-City Herald | comment 1 Comment
07/17/08
Gary Wolcott
Gary Wolcott
Tri-City Herald

The best things about the film are that the ingenue is a babe, it is 30 minutes than "Sex and the City" and no one sings "Fernando." Of course, I could say the same things about "Wanted" and that film at least had better choreography.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/17/08
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

Mostly successful [in creating fun], but along the way its strengths struggled mightily against its weaknesses.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
07/17/08
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

So infectiously bubbly overall that it's difficult to carp about voice talent and uneven pacing.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
07/17/08
Jette Kernion
Jette Kernion
Cinematical

flash-foiled by motion picture incompetence

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment 1 Comment
07/17/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
Filmcritic.com

Lloyd's film has no shape or tone; it swings wildly from sunny, haphazard scenes that play like outtakes, to higher-pitched, shrieking, hysterical scenes.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/17/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Mamma Mia! lacks even one big fantastic set piece; visually, each musical number is chopped up into tiny little bits.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
07/17/08
Dezhda Gaubert
Dezhda Gaubert
E! Online

Camp, bawdy and with a perky innocence, it is Sex and the City meets High School Musical.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
07/17/08
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The adaptation of the long-running stage hit is a crowd-pleasing gusher of escapism, not the least of which is respite from summertime teen action fare.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
07/17/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

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

Many lighthearted musicals have frilly plots, but the story cobbled together for Mamma Mia! is particularly superficial and imbecilic.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
07/17/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

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

It's a pretty enjoyable, big-screen songfest that should appeal to both the show's fans as well as aficionados of the Swedish pop group that supplied its tunes.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
07/17/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Campy theatrics and Busby Berkeley choreography set on a ridiculously breathtaking island paradise -- what's not to love?

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
07/17/08
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

You may find that the movie version of Mamma Mia! brings out your inner Simon Cowell.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
07/17/08
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

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
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Latest News for Mamma Mia!

February 04, 2009: Exclusive: Inside Pinewood/Shepperton - A Photo Tour
Every year, the BAFTA film awards present a trophy for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Introduced in 1978, the award recognises an organisation or a person's career... More...

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