Mamma Mia!

Director:  Phyllida Lloyd

Starring:  Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard.

Tom Hanks has become something of a good luck charm for movies related to Greece.  He produced the last Greek smash hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding and is also attached to the forthcoming My Life in Ruins, another comedy from Wedding's writer and star Nia Vardalos.  So it should come as no surprise to see his name as an Executive Producer for Mamma Mia!, which is all set to be another winner.

On the Greek island of Skopelos, Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is preparing for her wedding to Sky (Dominic Cooper) which is to be held at Villa Donna, a guest house owned by her mother (Meryl Streep).  Sophie wants her father, whom she doesn't know, to give her away, and thanks to her mother's diary she gathers three paternal suspects, all of which she invites to the wedding without her mother's knowledge.  Now all she has to do is work out which one is her real father in time for the big day.

Musicals always require some suspension of disbelief, but for this, you need to forget everything you know; in fact, it's best to forget you live on planet Earth, as Mamma Mia will take you to a place where extras are the chorus line, James Bond sings, large groups of people appear from nowhere - including the sea - and the music of ABBA provides meaning to lives.  Sound ridiculous?  It is.  Worried the story line can't support a 100-plus minute runtime?  It can't.  Think you should run as far away as possible?  No, because if a laugh, a smile and an opportunity to leave your world behind sounds good; join the orderly queue outside the cinema now as Mamma Mia! may be nonsense, but it's enjoyable nonsense.

All Mamma Mia!'s problems are forgiven thanks to two things.  The first is Meryl Streep's wonderful performance as Donna Sheridan.  She flings her heart and soul into every moment of screentime and every song she sings, but best of all is that she looks like she is honestly having fun, something which gives her character a level of realness unexpected in such a fantastical film.  The second saviour is ABBA, whose songs make up not only the soundtrack, but much of the film's dialogue too.  You have to be hard of heart not to enjoy these classics, each of which are accompanied by decent but non-showy choreography and plenty of background fun, with Dancing Queen being a clear standout.

Mamma Mia's fast-paced and fun first act is the highlight of the film as all the characters jostle for position prior to the wedding, then things slow down to a crawl during the second act but improve slightly towards the finale.  The film just doesn't have enough of a plot to sustain itself and would have benefitted from being a good 15 minutes shorter, with the entirely out-of-place Take A Chance beach number with its sex references and Streep's Winner Takes It All (which is great, but just slows the film even more) being prime candidates for the chop.  

Then there is the issue of the male cast members.  Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Pierce Brosnan look occasionally embarrassed, often confused and sound uniformly bad.  Colin Firth holds his own, or a tune a least,  but this will probably end up as their only opportunity to 'let loose' on screen.  Donna's friends Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) round out the female cast as mysteriously, Sophie's bridesmaids practically disappear after the first half.   But Rosie and Tanya merely appear to be tedious versions of Eddie and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, characters which no amount of 'wackiness' can save.

Make no mistake though, Mamma Mia!'s destiny as a massive cult hit is one which has been carefully manufactured.  Everything needed to make this a favourite on the audience participation circuit in the future has been included, right down to egging viewers on to join in the fun.  Although it's hugely entertaining for the first half, filled with ace music, beautiful locations and a high energy central performance, you just can't shake the feeling it's all one big cynical marketing exercise, which is rather unfortunate.  

Still, the best thing advice anyone should give regarding seeing Mamma Mia! is to ignore all this cynicism and just go and enjoy it for what it is - a celebration of some of most memorable songs ever recorded.  Be warned though, if ABBA makes your toes curl, it won't be for you at all.