The Mamma Mia! 2008 Film Discussion Thread

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Mamma Mia!

(Click To See The Trailer)

Cast:
<table width="75%" border="2"><tr><td>Meryl Streep - Donna Sheridan</td><td>Amanda Seyfried - Sophie Sheridan</td><td><td>Pierce Brosnan - Sam Carmichael</td><td>Julie Walters - Rosie</td><td>Christine Baranski - Tanya</td><td>Dominic Cooper - Sky</td><td>Colin Firth - Harry Bright</td><td>Stellan Skarsgård - Bill Austin</td></table>

Film Credits:
Directed by
Phyllida Lloyd

Written by
Catherine Johnson

Produced by
Benny Andersson .... producer
Judy Craymer .... producer
Gary Goetzman .... producer
Tom Hanks .... producer
Mark Huffam .... executive producer
Björn Ulvaeus .... producer
Rita Wilson .... producer

Original Music by
Stig Anderson
Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus

Cinematography by
Haris Zambarloukos

Casting by
Priscilla John

Production Design by
Maria Djurkovic

Art Direction by
Dean Clegg
Rebecca Holmes

General Info:
Mamma Mia! is an upcoming film adaptation of the West End musical of the same name based on the songs of pop group ABBA. The title of the film is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia". It will be produced by Universal Pictures in partnership with Playtone and Littlestar. It is slated for a release date of July 18, 2008 in the United States and November 28, 2008 in the United Kingdom

Academy Award winner Meryl Streep will head the cast of the film, playing the role of single mother Donna Sheridan. Pierce Brosnan will play Sam, one of Donna's daughter Sophie's three possible fathers. Sophie will be played by Amanda Seyfried

Plot:
Mamma Mia! employs the hit songs of famed pop group ABBA to tell the story of Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried), a young girl who hopes to discover the identity of her father. On the eve of her wedding to Sky (Dominic Cooper), she brings three men, Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) and Harry (Colin Firth), from her mother Donna's (Meryl Streep) past back to the Greek island they visited over two decades ago.

Pictures:


Websites:
http://www.mammamiamovie.com/
http://www.mamma-mia-themovie.co.uk/
http://www.mamma-mia.com/
http://www.mamma-mia.com/movie.asp?sec=movie

[SpringHeelJack]

Ahhhhh... it's like the lamest musical with the best cast ever.

Of course I'm seeing it opening day.

[rs_milo_whatever]

the trailer is just so engaging though!!!
i admit it sounds kind of lame, and kind of a weird yet catchy selection of songs.
it has all the elements to become next year's big romantic comedy:
1) its a musical
2) great cast
3) sweet/cheesy plot
4) great cast
5) catchy soundtrack
6) GREAT CAST!!!

though i'm still undecided about this film i'm very much planning on being there on opening weekend.

[I Love Bambi]

Not my type of movie, but I might check it out anyway.

[Anthony]

Ahhhhh... it's like the lamest musical with the best cast ever.

I wouldn't call the Broadway version the lamest musical. While it's certainly not the greatest, it is quite fun for a weekend matinee.

The movie, however, I'm hoping will be leaps and bounds better than the broadway version. I mean with that cast, how can you go wrong? Can't wait to see it!!

[Dottie]

Ahhhhh... it's like the lamest musical with the best cast ever.

Of course I'm seeing it opening day.

That totally summed up my opinion about it. Couldn't hav put it better.

I never liked the musical, and always thought it was a bad idea to make it at all. Take some well-known songs and then try to create a story around it is just soooo lame. Hence, I never saw it when it was playing here in Germany.

But I am going to see the movie anyway, because it stars my one-and-only Colin Firth (aaaahhh, love him!!!!) plus Pierce Brosnan and Merryl Streep. Not much can go wrong here.
And maybe it turns out to be a really sweet and fun movie.

[Harbinger]

I don't know if I'm gonna see this.

I'm a big fan of ABBA but I really didn't like the musical that much, especially the lame cop-out ending.

The trailer looks good though, so I don't know.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

New Poster:



Confirmed Songs:

1. Mamma Mia

2. I Have A Dream

3. Dancing Queen

4. Money, Money, Money

5. SOS

6. Take a Chance On Me

7. When All Is Said and Done

8. Voulez-Vous

[TheSequelOfDisney]

BUMP




Well, I came back from seeing the film and I have to say that I had a really great time watching it. Just everything made me happy while watching it. The theater was pretty full, but you should have seen the lines for TDK (there were at least 5). Streep was simply amazing and the supporting cast were all great as well. And the music video at the end was pretty hilarious, too. I will most definitely be buying this on Blu-ray. 5/5 stars.

[Simba3]

I really do want to see this film, but Batman: The Dark Knight kind of overshadowed it this weekend. I'd like to see it while it is still in the theaters.

[xxhplinkxx]

I'll be seeing it Tuesday afternoon with some friends, I'm pretty excited for it.

[Ting Ting]

Being as excited as I was for <i>Mamma Mia!</i>, I went to the first showing with a friend this morning. I thought I would walk out of the theater with a new favorite film. I was wrong.

It sucked balls. Big ones.

[Dottie]

I already saw it on Wednesday at a preview screening and absolutely loved, loved, loved every minute of it.
This movie is hilarious, has a great cast, wonderful music and is just so much fun and makes you really, really happy.
I didn't have high hopes for it, so that's probably why I ended up enjoying it sooo much, but I'll get it on DVD as soon as it comes out and buy the soundtrack next week.
Of course the story is kinda lame, which was always a problem for me in the musical, not so much in the movie, since the awesome cast gave such brilliant performances, especially La Streep and Amanda Seyfried.
And as Colin Firth put it in one interview: "It's unbelievable seeing Mr. Bond and Mr Darcy singing and dancing".
The only complaint I have is that Dominic Cooper should eat a bit more. It just doesn't look good when you can count the ribs.
Heck, the 3 dads were hotter than the groom! The best moment however for me was in the end when they're all wet and they show Colin Firth in a wet shirt yet again. I almost died in my seat! LOL
Another highlight was Julie Walters who was simply brilliant as Rosie and I didn't know that Christine Baranski was such a good singer!
All I can say is that I only went to see this movie because of the all-star cast, but ended up having one of my best theater experiences ever. There was so much positive energy in that room and everybody was so happy and cheerful, just great.
Definitely THE summer feel-good movie, imo!

[TheSequelOfDisney]

[...]and they show Colin Firth in a wet shirt yet again. I almost died in my seat! LOL[...]

Even though he was in the arms of another man?




???

[PeterPanfan]

I, too, just saw it and thought it was really, really fantastic! I loved every minute of it, and Amanda Seyfried really shined!

[Escapay]

[...]and they show Colin Firth in a wet shirt yet again. I almost died in my seat! LOL[...]

Even though he was in the arms of another man?

I think for Dottie, Colin Firth could be covered in mud and humping a lamppost and she'd still find it hot. It's like watching Clone Martha emerging from that weird gooey tub in Doctor Who: The Sontaran Stratagem. It's not meant to be a turn-on, but you just can't help it. It's one of the top 5 reasons why I loved "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky" two-parter.

Anyway, Mammia Mia looks like one of those musicals where you come in expecting nothing special and leaving feeling somewhat satisfied. I'll probably rent it when it's on DVD.

Albert

[SpringHeelJack]

It was so terribly bad / good. My friends and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. I'm not sure how much was supposed to be intentional. Up until "Dancing Queen", though, it was so damn slow. I was pretty bored until that point.

And people kept laughing every time Pierce Brosnan started to "sing". His voice wasn't Oliver Reed bad, but it was still pretty lousy.

I can't help but think it would have been better if we had gotten drunk first, though.

[Dottie]

I can't help but think it would have been better if we had gotten drunk first, though.

That's probably why every woman who came to the preview at my theater got a glass of prosecco

I think for Dottie, Colin Firth could be covered in mud and humping a lamppost and she'd still find it hot.

I think that's pretty accurate.



And it made about 26 mill. $ this weekend, which is really really good considering that The Dark Knight made 156mill $.

[tsom]

SPOILERS!!!!

I just saw it...and it was AWESOME! Okay, so I've never seen the stage show, but I was familiar with it. I'm a big fan of musicals. Naturally, I knew I was gonna like Mamma Mia!. My parents are/were big fans, so I grew up with it around me. Beofre going, I've been following the production of this movie, I've read reviews, heard the soundtrack, and watched clips.
So, today my friend and I decided to go. The friend I went with a big fan of musicals, but she doesn't know anything about Mamma Mia! or that much about ABBA, so I was going with a newbie. At the theater, it was half-full (since it is a Wednesday afternoon), and mostly the older generation, some teens, and one or two in-betweens.
The movie was so funny. I had a smile on my face most of the time. Meryl did an AWESOME job, so did Amanda (I didn't see dumb "Karen" at all). Julie & Christine were so hilarious. For some reason, I also liked Amanda's friends, and I loved how they were younger versions of Donna and her crew, especially after the Voluez-Vous scene. As for the three dads, they were all GREAT and so funny. Now, about Pierce Brosnan's singing, yeah it isn't the best, but he wasn't that bad. It can be tolerated. No one laughed at him, except a little bit during "When All Is Said and Done." Cooper did a great job, the ensemble, just everyone did a fantastic job.
The movie was very funny. Many funny moments, including the thing with Bill on his boat when Rosie was spying on him & Harry talking. Speaking of Harry, the part at the wedding was funny. Just many funny moments to list.
The story, i must be honest, is thin. BUT, the songs defintely made up for it. I was surprised at how much dialogue there was because I read somewhere that it was song after song after song. It had a good pace. I felt that the ending was rushed, and for some reason, I'm glad Sophie and Sky didn't get married. It just felt right. I don't think they were ready.
I've heard people complain about the fact that the direction was choppy, but I think for her first movie, the director did a great job. People just nitpick over the littlest things. Now, the only part I think could have been improved was "The Winner Takes It All" scene. That scene could have been MUCH better, but other than that, I liked the direction. It didn't feel stagey to me (like "The Producers"), but then again, I've never seen the stage show (or the stage show for "The Producers" but it felt stagey), but it didn't feel cramped or stagey. This was a good movie-musical.
Oh, and Christine did an amazing job with "Does Your Mother Know." I had to put that out there.
The cinematograpy was beautiful. The water was so blue/green, and I wanted to jump in it. I especially liked
The choreography wasn't the best. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better.

Overall, it was a fanatastic movie. There were lots of laugh-out-loud moments from me, my friend, and the audience. I doubt it'll win any oscars, but it's a worthy movie nonetheless. My novice friend liked it, although she said she likes Hairspray better, but she was so disappointed that we don't know who the father is. I still can't figure it out. Maybe it was Sam, but I would have liked it to be Harry. My friend and I loved Harry the best out of the three possible fathers.
Comapred to Hairspray, they are really different, but both are feel-good movies. I would say Hairspray was slighty better only because I've seen it like 10 times. I'm sure if I see Mamma Mia! more times (on DVD or on HBO), I will like it better than Hairspray.

I give Mamma Mia! 3 out of 4 stars.

Sorry for any spelling errors or grammar mistakes, but I just got back, and I'm very tired to proof-read. There also may be things that I forgot to mention, but overall, fantastic movie.

P.S. If you haven't seen it, make sure you stay after the encore of "Dancing Queen." That got lots of laughs. Oh, and my audience clapped when the movie ended.

[katemonster]

I was never really into ABBA and I had never seen the musical but I have to say that the movie was one of the most entertaining things I had seen this summer. It was just fun. And now I really want the soundtrack