_US_poster.jpg)
On the Greek island of Kalokiari, Donna, owner of a small boarding house, is all too happy for her daughter Sophie's upcoming wedding with Sky, all until she finds out that Sophie invited all three of Donna's previous lovers—Sam, Bill and Harry—who are suspected to be Sophie's father. When she finds the three ex-lovers in the attic of her goat house, Donna chases them away. However, Donna's friends Rosie and Tanya try to persuade her to make up with them. After a lot of troubles, Sam admits that 20 years ago he left Donna to cancel his engagement, but when he returned, Donna was already with Bill. Sam proposes Donna, and she accepts. Sophie and Sky postpone their wedding for a while.
Whether the viewers will like "Mamma Mia!" depends a lot on whether they like ABBA—if they like ABBA's songs, they will like the movie; conversely, if they don't like their songs, there is no help. "Mamma Mia!" is exaggerated and over-the-top, and uses ABBAs songs in excess—at one point, it seems more like a live action karaoke with actors performing the songs. Heck, if the musical and dance numbers were removed, the story would have sufficed for only a 20 minute film. Nonetheless, it is fun, dynamic and full of life, and after the viewers adjust to its frequency, it creates its very own rhythm. There are some wonderful dance moves here, mostly in the two best musical sequences revolving around the songs "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S.", the latter of which is fabulously unabashedly campy sang by Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. Streep has no sense for comic timing, but is very good in singing and emotional scenes, whereas Amanda Seyfried is wonderful as her daughter Sophie. The best performance, though, is delivered by the excellent Christine Baranski as the feisty friend Tanya, who brings down the house. The script is underwritten, but when it invests some effort into it, it can conjure up a few really good jokes. In one example, Rosie accidentally stumbles upon Sophie's very narrow thong, and asks Donna: "Does she wear it or floss with it?" "Mamma Mia!" is an acquired taste, but it has charm and positive energy presented in its very own way.
Grade:++
