mamma mia movie review

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Mamma Mia! (2008) is a masterpiece

I know that the word 'masterpiece' gets bandied around a lot on this subreddit, but I do think it fits here. I watched this film for the first time on the first day of lockdown in the UK, and I couldn't have picked a better film to watch at such a confusing and uneasy time. Since then, I've returned to the film twice, whilst also listening to the soundtrack on loop for months now, and I've come to the fair conclusion that it is not only a masterpiece, but one of the ten best films I've ever seen. Let me tell you why I think this...

Simply put...how the fuck do you really go wrong here? The songs of ABBA are some of the best pop songs ever written, and Mamma Mia is a jukebox musical in the most literal sense - there are no deep cuts here, this is the greatest hits of ABBA in film form. And what more could you possibly want!? The musical sequences in this film truly make me want to sing along and dance more than any other musical sequences in any film. Not only are they using these timeless ABBA songs that sound just as great today as they did when they came out, but they've redone the instrumentations for the modern day. It's not all orchestrated up for a film like most musicals (and indeed the sequel), but rearranged by the original members to give it a more modern flair. They are also sung to incredibly different degrees of success, which just adds to the experience! On the one hand you've got Meryl Streep who is really giving it her all like she's in an opera, and on the other you've got Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård, who are all clearly just having the time of their lives. They can't sing, but hey, neither can I, their energy just adds to the experience and makes you want to sing along with them, and Meryl Streep playing it all so seriously is just another way that this film adds a depth of humour and entertainment to go along with it.

The Visuals:

The film is almost like watching a disco. You could get the 100 greatest directors in the world to have a stab at this script, and I don't believe any of them would make it as fun as this. The hen-party in the middle is especially brilliant: Voulez-Vous is filmed as a chaotic nightmare, the camera spinning everywhere, with random people popping in and out of the screen like its a horror film, whereas Lay All Your Love on Me is this hilariously cheesy love story with men running around in flippers! The whole film seems to change its colour-palette, style of editing, and style of cinematography depending on what the song is, almost like it's a series of music videos strung together, but instead of feeling wonky or out of place, it just feels incredibly well-done, and only adds to the fun, freshness of the film, because every scene makes you fall in love with a completely different visual idea. This is not a film that warrants the precision of someone like Spielberg, or the surrealness of David Lynch, it's a film that is perfect for Phyllida Lloyd (the director) because her theatrical background gives her the sensibility to know that this film doesn't need to be in any way serious, it just needs to be fun, it needs to feel like you're at a disco, and it absolutely does throughout.

Watching these ABBA songs strung together within an inch of their life to loosely fit a story is brilliant to watch, but the story itself is actually wonderful. On the one hand, it's about a girl who just wants to find her father, and on the other, it's about two lost lovers reconciling their break-up, and it's fucking brilliant at doing both!! The film ends by letting us think about what family truly is, and showing us how we can all continue to chase our dreams, no matter how long ago we thought it impossible. It's such a wholesome tale, told through the power of ABBA, that just lifts you right up at the end and makes you feel good about yourself. The story of togetherness is especially prescient during these trying times.

The Performances:

I briefly mentioned the singing in this film, but the performances have more depth than that. The performances in this film feel like a bunch of actors turned up on set drunk, and that is exactly the perfect feel for this film, because it feels totally naturalistic. It's almost like a Ken Loach film in how it just feels like they're filming a family. But unlike the depressing nature of Loach films, this family is having a wedding! And what do people do at weddings? They all get pissed and start singing and dancing! Of course Brosnan sounds like shit, of course Firth can't dance, and of course Streep stands out massively because it seems like she's taking the film as seriously as any of her other roles, but that's all part of the brilliance of it, because we all know those people who take everything too seriously, those people who are fairly normal until they get a bit of drink in them and start flailing around everywhere, so it's a film that everyone can relate too, and I think a lot of that is in these performances.

In short, I think that Mamma Mia takes the traditional ideas of what a 'good' performance is, what 'good' direction is, etc, flips it entirely on its head to what on the surface you might call silly, but then actually makes it brilliant. Because all the choices work, whilst all feeling original, and they all service the story and style of the film. So no, I know you all read this title and thought I was making a shitpost, or thought I was exaggerating, but I'm not. Mamma Mia is a masterpiece, and it is one of the greatest films I've ever seen.

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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

If you loved the first “Mamma Mia!” movie back in 2008, well, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” offers even more—and even less.

The sequel (which is also a prequel) features a bigger cast, a longer running time, extra subplots and additional romantic entanglements. But it’s emptier than its predecessor and has even lower stakes. It’s less entertaining, and for all its frantic energy, it manages to go absolutely nowhere.

Once again inspired by the music of ABBA and set on a picturesque Greek island, the second “Mamma Mia!” is the lightest piece of Swedish pastry with the sweetest chunk of baklava on the side. And while that may sound delicious, it’s likely to give you a toothache (as well as a headache).

At one point, during a particularly clunky musical number, I wrote in my notes: “I am so uncomfortable right now.” But while the goofy imperfection of this song-and-dance extravaganza is partially the point—and theoretically, a source of its charm—it also grows repetitive and wearying pretty quickly.

No single moment reaches the infectious joy of Meryl Streep writhing around in a barn in overalls performing the title song in the original film, or the emotional depth of her singing “The Winner Takes It All” to Pierce Brosnan . Along those lines, if you’re looking forward to seeing Streep show off her playful, musical side again, you’re going to be disappointed. Despite her prominent presence in the movie’s marketing materials, she’s barely in it.

That’s because Streep’s free-spirited Donna has died, we learn at the film’s start, but her presence is felt everywhere in weepy ways. Her daughter, Sophie ( Amanda Seyfried ), is re-opening the inn her mom ran—now christened the Hotel Bella Donna—on the same idyllic (and fictional) Greek island of Kalokairi where the first film took place. Writer-director Ol Parker (whose relevant experience includes writing those “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” movies) jumps back and forth in time between Sophie nervously putting the finishing touches on the big party she’s planning and the story of how her mother originally ended up on this remote slab of land in the Aegean Sea—and became pregnant with Sophie in the late 1970s without being entirely sure of who the father was.

Lily James plays young Donna as a firecracker flower child—a friendly mess of wild, blonde curls and high, platform boots. (James’ sunny presence is one of the film’s consistent bright spots.) We meet the younger version of her best friends and jumpsuit-clad backup singers, Tanya ( Jessica Keenan Wynn , doing a dead-on impression of Christine Baranski ) and Rosie ( Alexa Davies , standing in for Julie Walters ). And we see her flirt and fall for the three guys she has giddy flings with the summer after college graduation.

First, there’s the skittish Harry ( Hugh Skinner ), who tries to charm her with his halting French in Paris. Next comes the sexy Swede Bill ( Josh Dylan ), who woos her on the boat that carries her out to the island. Finally, there’s aspiring architect Sam ( Jeremy Irvine ), who’s already vacationing on Kalokairi when she arrives. They will grow up to be Colin Firth , Stellan Skarsgard and Brosnan, respectively, and they will be forced into singing ABBA songs that clearly make them miserable.

Ah yes, the ABBA songs. They provided the confectionery connective tissue for the smash-hit stage musical and the original movie. This time, the ‘70s Swedish supergroup’s tunes that are the most rapturous are also replays from the first go-round: a flotilla of fishermen singing and prancing to “Dancing Queen,” or the splashy finale uniting the whole cast for “Super Trouper.” Much of the soundtrack consists of lesser-known songs, and the uninspired way those numbers are staged and choreographed rarely allows them to soar.

Once again, though, these actors are such pros that they can’t help but make the most of their meager material. Baranski and Walters in particular have crackling chemistry again. The brief moments in which the supremely overqualified Firth, Skarsgard and Brosnan pal around with each other as Sophie’s three dads made me long to see them together in something else. Anything else. A documentary in which they have lunch on the porch under sunny Greek skies, even.

And then Cher shows up. Now, it would seem impossible for this superstar goddess ever to be restrained. But as Sophie’s frequently absent grandmother, Cher seems weirdly reined in. Again, it’s the awkwardness of the choreography: She just sort of stands there, singing “Fernando,” before stiffly walking down a flight of stairs to greet the person to whom she’s singing. (As the hotel’s caretaker, Andy Garcia conveniently plays a character named Fernando, which is an amusing bit.)

But if you’re down for watching A-list stars belt out insanely catchy, 40-year-old pop tunes in a shimmering setting, and you’re willing to throw yourself headlong into the idea of love’s transformative power, and you just need a mindless summer escape of your own, you might just thoroughly enjoy watching “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” Don’t think, and pass the ouzo.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series “Ebert Presents At the Movies” opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael
• Lily James as Young Donna Sheridan
• Dominic Cooper as Sky
• Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan
• Julie Walters as Rosie Mulligan
• Christine Baranski as Tanya Chesham-Leigh
• Andy García as Fernando
• Cher as Ruby Sheridan
• Stellan Skarsgård as Bill Anderson
• Colin Firth as Harry Bright
• Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan
• Anne Dudley

Composer (music by)

• Benny Andersson
• Björn Ulvaeus

Writer (based on the original musical by)

• Catherine Johnson

Writer (story by)

• Richard Curtis

Writer (originally conceived by)

• Judy Craymer
• Peter Lambert

Cinematographer

• Robert D. Yeoman

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Mamma Mia! (2008)

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Movie Review: Mamma Mia! (2008)

• General Disdain
• Movie Reviews
• 8 responses
• --> July 22, 2008

You’re among friends so I promise I won’t laugh at you. You know you’ve secretly wanted to see a musical set to the songs of Swedish super group ABBA. Okay maybe not, but at least admit you’ve always yearned to hear the singing voice of Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep. No to that too? If that’s the case then perhaps Mamma Mia! isn’t the movie for you, that is unless you can look beyond the aforementioned “highlights” and see through to what actually amounts to an entertaining movie.

But first let me jump right into the singing since it is the main driver of the film. Simply put, it is nothing to write home about. Actually, a large portion of it is rather painful to listen to, with the biggest offender being Pierce Brosnan. His dashing good looks and sexy English/Irish accent can’t mask the fact that he is just as tone deaf as William Hung was. Yes ladies, he has a flaw. For you cougar hunters, Meryl Streep isn’t much better either. She keeps her voice at a relatively soft, off-key monotone which I found distressing because I actually had to strain to hear her clearly (which may have something to do with my going to one to many Metallica concerts, although I doubt it). The only actor on the set of Mamma Mia! with at least a tiny smidgen of ability was Amanda Seyfried, which I assume is a blessing based solely off of her tender age.

Overriding this blight is the obvious fun the actors are having at the expense of their shortfalls. They know they can’t sing a lick but that doesn’t stop them from making the most out of the playful script, which is simple and unassuming. Streep is Donna, the owner of a Greek villa and the single mother to daughter Sophie (Seyfried). Sophie is getting married and wants nothing more than to have her father walk her down the aisle. There is a slight problem though – Donna played the field back in the day and there is a tossup as to who the father is. Maybe it is the British banker Harry Bright (Colin Firth) that she spent the night with. Perhaps it is American architect Sam Carmichael (Brosnan), who shared a few nights in her bed as well. Or maybe, just maybe, it is Swedish thrill seeker Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard), who managed to squeeze some time in there as well. No matter who it is, they’re all invited to the event; unwanted by Donna, being scrutinized by Sophie and utterly confused by the whole situation.

This predictably leads to some heartfelt and goofy moments between all involved. When confronted with the very real possibility that they may have a 20-year old daughter that they’ve never met, each of the “fathers” step up to the plate – all are more than willing to make up for lost time. Adding credence to all these moments is the fact that Amanda Seyfried has an innocent glow about her that it is very easy to fall for. As for silliness, just watching people inexplicably break out in poorly choreographed dance sequences is enough for me to laugh and shake my head in disbelief. It is something I’ve never been able to get used to when watching a musical – it always seems comical (even when not meant to be) and completely unnatural.

On the merits of telling a good story though, Mamma Mia! gains marks. It is certainly a fun movie that captures the viewer’s interest – for the most part. The idea of having a girl seeking out her birth father rings true with our current state of affairs. Telling it in a fun, lighthearted manner makes it all the more palatable. The failure is casting actors and actresses that don’t have an iota of strength in the singing or dancing department. It is rather enjoyable at the onset to see these accomplished thespians make fools of themselves but just like the final evisceration scene in Braveheart , you find yourself hollering for the torture to stop.

While I haven’t seen the Broadway version of Mamma Mia! that the movie is based on, I can’t help but think that the Broadway version is better. For the price though, as compared to a Broadway showing, the film adaptation is worth the cash. Give it a watch — especially if you don’t have the 100+ dollars needed for a mezzanine ticket . . .

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Mamma Mia! (2008)' have 8 comments

July 27, 2008 @ 1:50 pm NarnianWho

I really enjoyed this movie! But I do agree that Pierce Brosnan’s singing was a bit hard-on-the-ears at the best of times!

It was a fun movie, bit of a soggy ending, but amazing location it was set in and some decent romance between Sky (Dominic Cooper) and newcomer Amanda Seyfried who has a beautiful voice. Not really a ‘guy film’ but very entertaining and a stable plot throughout.

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August 13, 2008 @ 5:09 am patrick

this is one of the few plays i’ve actually seen, which ended up being great… it’s funny to think of ol’ Pierce taking a stab at singing, yeeesh

September 20, 2008 @ 3:45 pm Chuck L.

The movie could have benefited from great sexual tension between the characters of 3 single men and 3 single women in their late thirties. Unfortunately the parts were cast to actors who were sixty.

September 27, 2008 @ 12:53 pm Lisa V

I’ve seen the movie because all my female friends recommended it with a big smile. My personal opinion -disaster. Wrong cast, total euphoria, disorder and brainless story.

October 7, 2008 @ 1:26 pm emma

thts complete cheek to say especially bout Meryl Streep she is a great singer ur just too tone deaf to realise it urself and u say its predictable yet u contradict urself when u say u have not seen the broadway show tell u wot get a life and stop wasting ur time on a long shot comment which goes purley un-noticed as its one its awards and so did Meryl Streep. get a life

November 8, 2008 @ 8:31 pm Mirian

I have seen the movie and I really LOVED IT!!! I went with my husband, daughters (5years), my mother, sisters, brother and sister in law and we all like it. We are now huge fans and my daughters has the soundtrack and love the music.

April 29, 2009 @ 3:10 am Ticket Loot

So bad that it’s brilliant, kinda like Austin Powers (the 1st) or Snakes on a Plane? If so, then I’ll have to check it out.

March 11, 2010 @ 3:23 am Kate The Portrait Artist

I liked this but my husband thought it was the worst thing he had ever seen saved only by Pierce Brosnan’s singing which was so bad that it was good. I think it has the feel good feeling at that part of Greece is simply delicious!!

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I can confess that I love almost any musical I've ever seen. There's something about people using a song when they can no longer contain their feelings that is very appealing. And because of that, maybe I'm a little biased when it comes to a jukebox musical featuring ABBA's biggest hits. ABBA's music is fun and infectious on its own, but add to that the impressive cast of Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried, Colin First, etc, and you have a recipe for musical perfection. The movie has the right balance of emotional moments and laugh-out-loud sequences to keep even those who don't appreciate musicals the way I do entertained.

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I really need mamma mia 3 to bring this character back (it's not meryl streep's), did amanda seyfried & meryl streep actually sing in mamma mia, why meryl streep’s donna was killed off in mamma mia 2, mamma mia 3's meryl streep problem was already solved in here we go again, related titles.

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Mamma Mia! Review

10 Jul 2008

109 minutes

Okay, it ain’t West Side Story, but any musical that’s packed them in for a decade, played 170 cities in eight languages and been seen by over 30 million people clearly has something going for it. That something is the songs of innocent vitality and mature heartbreak from the classic Abba catalogue; Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus’s tunes inspired and propel a charming, energetic little tale that is basically a hen party with bells on.

Since the greatest actress of her generation can also sing, Meryl Streep was an obvious shoo-in when the show’s creators got the backing of Tom Hanks’s Playtone (looking for another Big Fat Greek Wedding?) to make the movie version. Streep and her comedic bosom buddies, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, make a mighty sweet rumpus as the aging ex rock chicks. Amanda Seyfried and The History Boys’ Dominic Cooper play the young lovers, and are suitably attractive in beachwear. And then Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and token Swede Stellan Skarsgard, as the possible fathers, cavort with a blushing agreeability and are, arguably, more endearing for their air of schoolboy effort than polished musical stars would be.

As you would expect, performance quality thus ranges from Streep emotively nailing ’The Winner Takes It All’ to taverna karaoke. The manly contingent have the sheepish air of men who would rather be at football, but they get how amusing it is when they burst into song, and gamely play along.

The major gripe is that, as we’ve often seen when a respected stage director steps to the screen, the results of mixing realism with theatricality are, well, mixed. Some sequences work. There’s a joyous ‘Dancing Queen’, which sees Streep and gal pals drawing village women down to the sea. ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ hilariously features a beach boy chorus line stomping their stuff in flippers. Other bits betray a maddening want of cinematic savvy. In Streep and Brosnan’s big moment his head is cut off. What the hell? Any kid with a camera could have found another angle or stood Meryl on a crate.

But it’s full of super troupers and smiles. Don’t leave during the credits or you’ll miss the encore, with the stars in 70s satin and platform boots giving ‘Waterloo’ plenty of welly.

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Mamma Mia! (United Kingdom/United States, 2008)

Mamma Mia! delivers exactly what one can reasonably expect from it. It's a faithful adaptation of the stage play of the same name but, more importantly, it's a repository for ABBA songs - nearly two dozen in total. Considering that the average running length of each of these songs is between two and three minutes, that means about 2/3 of the film is singing, with the remaining 35 minutes (or so) devoted to insignificant things like exposition and dialogue. Mamma Mia! is relentlessly cheerful and unapologetically campy, and will find its strongest (and perhaps only) adherents among the group that looks back fondly on ABBA.

Mamma Mia! mostly avoids the pitfalls that tripped up Julie Taymor's Across the Universe . Both films suffer from the same structural problem - trying to fashion a screenplay around numerous pop songs - but, where Across the Universe tried to be artistic and substantive, Mamma Mia! is content to wallow in nostalgia and cheesiness. So, while Taymor's ode to the Beatles felt long and tired, Phyllida Lloyd's effort is the cinematic equivalent of a fireworks display: transitory but, while it lasts, bright, loud, and crackling with energy.

The story really doesn't matter, but the existence of one, regardless of how thin it is, differentiates this from a star-powered concert film. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper). Raised by single mother Donna (Meryl Streep) on an out-of-the-way Greek island, Sophie has never known her father. Now, after reading pages from her mother's diary, she has discovered three possible candidates: Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth), and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). Since she doesn't know which of these men is her dad, she invites all three to her wedding. When they arrive at the island and encounter Donna, singing and dancing ensues.

I suppose the appeal of Mamma Mia! is not unlike that of Xanadu . Neither film can possibly be taken seriously on any level, so it's just a question of how much silliness and camp one is willing to endure in the name of entertainment. Personally, the sight of Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård dressed in the infamous "ABBA costumes" of the '70s (something that doesn't happen until the end credits) is worth the price of admission. Considering the impressive array of talent lined up to get this movie on screen, not the least of whom is Meryl Streep, most of those involved must feel the same way.

Nearly every ABBA Top 20 hit is woven somewhere into the fabric of the screenplay. Some are integrated better than others. A few, such as "Dancing Queen," are forced into the proceedings simply because they're too well known to be ignored no matter how out-of-place they are. There's a lot of dancing as well, and it's of the over-the-top variety. One particularly memorable number features a line of men clad only in swimsuits and flippers showing off their muscles. There's also a literal Greek chorus that's used to bolster songs that need an extra "umph" beyond what the principal singers provide.

No one is dubbed. What you hear is what you get. Amanda Seyfried has a nice voice and, perhaps surprisingly, Meryl Streep can hold her own. (There's also a dance number that has her perform a mid-air split. Amazing.) After that, however, things get rocky. Colin Firth may have caused women to swoon when he played Mr. Darcy, but that's probably because he didn't sing in Pride and Prejudice . And Pierce Brosnan doesn't need his Walther PPK - all he has to do is open his mouth and belt out an ABBA tune for the results to be devastating.

Visually, the movie doesn't do a lot. The gorgeous island setting provides an impressive backdrop, and some of the stage-bound garishness of the play is toned down. The camerawork is simple, with Lloyd preferring longer takes to the flash-and-cut approach favored in many recent motion picture musicals. The benefit of the approach is that it gives us an opportunity to concentrate on the actors. There's something enjoyable watching such an impressive group making asses of themselves and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Mamma Mia! is being offered as counterprogramming to The Dark Knight , and it would be hard to find two more dissimilar movies. In terms of quality, the Batman Begins sequel is the better option, but Mamma Mia! is, in the purest sense, more fun. It's airheaded just like the songs it embraces but, if you enjoy them, there's every reason to believe you'll appreciate the film.

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The Untold Truth Of Mamma Mia!

When Mamma Mia! –  the 2008 musical flick starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried — was released, the movie was pretty much an instant hit . 

Of course, with an all-star cast including, Streep, Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, and other major stars , it's easy to see why this fun flick made such a splash. After all, if the impressive roster of stars wasn't enough to draw a crowd, Mamma Mia! also featured a soundtrack full of uplifting, feel-good mega-hits by the Swedish band, ABBA . Add a goofy plot set on a beautiful Greek island , and voila — you have the winning recipe that made Mamma Mia! such a success.In fact, due to the first film's popularity, a sequel called  Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again   was released 10 years later in 2018 — adding Lily James, Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, and Jeremy Irvine to the cast as the younger versions of Meryl Streep's Donna and her three suitors. 

If you just can't get enough of the whacky, colorful world of the Mamma Mia! movies, and are looking to discover some behind-the-scenes secrets — you're in luck. Here's the untold truth of Mamma Mia!

Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried dated during Mamma Mia!

The first Mamma Mia! film centers around Sophie and Sky, a young couple preparing for their wedding. The lovebirds were played by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, and in an adorable turn of events, the two actors actually fell in love during the first movie! 

Sadly, nothing good lasts forever, the couple split up three years after the release of  Mamma Mia! However, in the sequel film, the actors had to play a married couple — which meant they each had to tap into those old emotions.

Seyfried told Elle about how it was hard not to slip back into old habits, saying, "You know, it's very strange having to not be intimate with someone you've had an intimate relationship with." She went on, explaining, "It can be hard but you have to step back and be professional."  Luckily, there was little to no tension — as it had been ten years since Cooper and Seyfried had been together. "It is a long time and it was nice to spend time [with her]," Cooper explained in an interview with Attitude .

Pierce Brosnan didn't realize who he was playing when he was cast in Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! boasts an incredible cast of very talented performers — including 007 himself! 

Pierce Brosnan plays  Sam , one of the three potential fathers featured throughout Mamma Mia!  However, many people wouldn't have pegged Brosnan for a musical film kind of guy — after all, the actor was primarily known for playing James Bond in the 90s. And as it turns out, Brosnan did necessarily picture himself in the role at first, either.

Speaking with  Cinema about how he came to be cast, Brosnan revealed that he didn't know much about the project, but was eager to sign on when he heard Meryl Streep was attached to the film. The producers then sent him to see the stage version of the story, which was an eye-opening experience for Brosnan. "I didn't know if the story was about ABBA themselves or whatever," Brosnan explained to Cinema . He continued, saying, "I thought, 'Oh dear,' but I also said to myself, 'Well, it must be good if Meryl Streep has said yes to it.'" Well, he was certainly right about that!

Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried shared a touching mother-daughter bond off-screen while filming Mamma Mia!

As fans  Mamma Mia!  know, the film follows the relationship between Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried, who play mother and daughter, Donna and Sophie Sheridan. And according to the film's director, Phyllida Lloyd, the off-screen relationship between the two actors was pretty special too.

If you've seen the movie even once, you know that Streep singing " Slipping Through My Fingers " as she prepares for her daughter's wedding is a musical performance guaranteed to make you cry . In an interview with the Daily Mail ,  Lloyd opened up about how Streep and Seyfried's special bond helped them film the touching scene. "There was great tenderness between Meryl and Amanda and they both identified strongly with the scene," Lloyd explained, revealing that the two actors were allowed to come up with their own actions throughout the scene. The director continued, saying, "I just let them improvise as Meryl painted Amanda's toenails." 

Apparently, Streep was even the one who came up with the idea to have Seyfried sit on her lap during the heartwarming moment. "It was incredibly touching to watch them doing this scene," the Lloyd gushed.

Two ABBA band members appear in Mamma Mia!

Both Mamma Mia! movies revolve around the amazing music of ABBA. And as it turns out, the Swedish band was actually pretty involved in the filming process, with some of the band members even appearing as cameos throughout the films. 

For instance, in the first movie, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson appear in separate scenes — both seemingly having a cheekily fun time (via Bustle ). Andersson can be seen playing piano on the dock in the "Dancing Queen" sequence, while Ulvaeus makes an appearance later on in the movie. If you watch closely, he can be spotted as the Greek god in the final credits.

In the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , Andersson and Ulvaeus appear again. Andersson is seen once again playing piano ; however, Ulvaeus takes on a more surprising role. In the sequel, Ulvaeus is featured as a teacher during the song, "When I Kissed the Teacher." Don't blink, and you'll be able to see him  sitting behind Lily James when she bursts into song. Obviously, these musical icons weren't kidding around when they sang, "Here we go again!" 

They had to shoot the Mamma Mia! wedding dance sequence in one take

In the first  Mamma Mia! movie, the entire wedding celebration is kicked up a notch when a crack in the patio breaks and Aphrodite's fountain explodes , soaking all of the guests with water. Of course, in true Mamma Mia! style, this doesn't put a damper on the celebrations. Instead, the guests keep on dancing — and the audience is left with a truly iconic moment to remember.

Director Phyllida Lloyd explained to the Daily Mail that this unforgettable scene was actually pretty stressful to shoot. "The stakes were high, because we could only afford to do this scene once," she explained. The director continued, saying, "You can imagine how long it would take to dry everyone off, and some of the costumes were delicate and there were wigs to consider too." It's lucky that none of the actors messed up during this scene! 

Lloyd explained that she used the ABBA song "Hole In Your Soul" to create a sense of "spontaneous euphoria." That's fitting, of course, as it's pretty clear while watching the scene that the actors really are having the time of their lives!

Bill was actually Australian in the original stage version of Mamma Mia!

As Mamma Mia! fans know, one of Sophie Sheridan's potential fathers is Bill — played by the Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård in the movie. The character has a Swedish accent and can even be seen flying a Swedish flag from his boat . However, it turns out, the character was actually Australian in the original stage version. 

As USA Today pointed out, the choice to change Bill from an Australian to a Swede might be in homage to ABBA, who are Swedish themselves. While Skarsgård is from Sweden, Josh Dylan , who plays the younger version of Bill in the sequel, is from the UK. Skarsgård spoke to The Big Issue about this casting. In fact, as the actor revealed to the publication, Mamma Mia! producers even considered casting one of Skarsgård's kids to play the younger version of his character. 

"I think they looked at at least one of my sons but they found they actually needed someone who could sing," Skarsgård joked to The Big Issue . 

The two Mamma Mia! films were shot in two different countries

Both Mamma Mia! movies take place on a stunning Greek island, and the first movie was actually filmed on location in Greece! However, it may come as a surprise to learn that the sequel was actually filmed on another island — and in a totally different country.

The first movie was shot on three small islands called Skopelos, Skiathos, and Damouchari , as the islands are famous for their beautiful greenery. However, it seems that the producers wanted to try something new for the sequel. All of the Greek island scenes in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again  were actually filmed in Croatia. Lily James and Amanda Seyfried spoke to BUILD Series about the experience of living on a tiny Croatian island while filming. Apparently, the whole cast became close, even though their storylines didn't overlap. 

"There was only a few restaurants," James explained. Added Seyfried, "Everybody kind of came together." The Mean Girls star even went on to reminisce about how the whole cast would get drunk together at dinner parties on the island. One thing's for sure: This all-star cast knows how to have a good time!

Lily James went straight to Glastonbury Festival after her audition for the sequel to Mamma Mia!

In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , Lily James plays the younger version of Donna Sheridan. While James didn't have to audition multiple times to get the role — as she explained to Allure in 2018, she almost lost the part by losing her voice!

As the actress revealed to the publication, she was on route to Glastonbury with her boyfriend when they had to make a pit stop so she could audition. "He pulled over and waited for me while I went in and sang a few Mamma Mia! songs and did a few scenes," James explained. She continued, saying, "Then I was like, 'Peace, I'm out,' and we went to the festival and had the best weekend." 

Obviously, James didn't expect to have to sing any Mamma Mia! songs for a while after her audition. So, when she got the part, she was surprised — and hoarse."My agents rang me on [that] Monday or Tuesday, and I had completely lost my voice," she confessed. As James told People , she even had to go on vocal rest for a week.

For Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Lily James learned Meryl Streep's performance by heart

To nail her Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again role, Lily James became a student of Meryl Streep's performance in the first Mamma Mia film.

As James told Allure in 2018, she sat down and watched the original movie "hundreds of times." She then proceeded to make an audio track of all of Streep's lines in the movie, so that she could create a believable younger version of the character. "Every moment of that film I know by heart," James explained to the publication.

While James clearly spent hours and hours learning to mimic Streep as Donna, once she got on set, she tried not to think about Streep too much. "The thing I like about acting is fully surrendering to that moment and not trying to control what happens," James said. She continued, telling Allure ,  "So I think I just forgot to do anything." Whether James was thinking about the original Donna or not, it's clear those hours of listening seriously paid off. After all, her Streep impression is flawless!

Julie Walters was made a dame while filming the sequel to Mamma Mia!

In  Mamma Mia! , legendary actress Julie Walters plays Donna Sheridan's longtime friend, Rosie Mulligan . Apparently, however, she had to take some time off during the filming of the sequel for a very special reason. 

In 2017, Walters was made a dame during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Unsurprisingly, according to Walters, the experience was "slightly nerve-wracking" (via BBC ). Needless to say, meeting the queen in Buckingham Palace was a serious change of pace compared to Croatian island life she had grown accustomed to while filming the Mamma Mia! sequel.

Soon enough, Walters returned to the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again set, where she was greeted with a surprise from the  Mamma Mia! crew. As fellow cast member Christine Baranski told BBC , the cast and crew surprised Walters with a rendition of the song "There Is Nothing Like a Dame." Apparently, Walters was "so touched" by the gesture. And as fans of this all-star cast, we're touched by how much these people clearly care about each other!

Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine, and Josh Dylan all lived together while filming the sequel to Mamma Mia!

If Mamma Mia! fans need any more proof about how close-knit the actors and crew members were while filming, it turns out three of the young leads actually lived together in a villa while shooting the sequel — Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again . 

Lily James and Amanda Seyfried spoke to BUILD Series about how the cast got incredibly close while filming, with James explaining that actors Hugh Skinner, Jeremy Irvine, and Josh Dylan "all lived together in a villa in Vis [Croatia] for six weeks." Rooming together aside, it's pretty clear that the lads got on like a house on fire. In a hilarious Elle interview, the three men explained their favorite things about each other, with Dylan telling Irvine and Skinner, "You brighten my life." Later, Irvine exclaimed, "Let's just all kiss!" 

Fortunately, it seems that the rest of the cast were thick as thieves, as well. Lily James even posted a photo on Instagram of the cast having dinner — which was cooked by Dylan, Irvine, and Skinner. "Last night the dads cooked," James captioned her photo. Could this cast be any cuter?

Lily James had to film a dance sequence with a broken toe in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

In the Mamma Mia! sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , Lily James is a total force. 

For instance, in the song " Waterloo ," which is performed by Lily James and Hugh Skinner — James spins, flips, and jumps around a restaurant with Skinner. Watching scenes like this, you'd never realize that James did some of the dancing seen in the movie with a broken toe . As James explained to Riyadh Khalaf in an interview , the accident happened when she ran at full pace into some lighting equipment on set. "It fully snapped it back on itself," she said. Apparently, James didn't realize it was broken at the time, so they kept shooting. "I was a real soldier, very brave," James joked. 

Apparently, the injury actually slowed down the filming process (via Daily Mail ). Still, the actress seemed to be in good spirits, as she posted a cheery-looking picture on Instagram of the cast celebrating Thanksgiving as she wore a foot brace!

This famous Mamma Mia! cameo was featured in the sequel

Fans of the Mamma Mia! movies are all too familiar with what is arguably one of the most famous cameos in movie musical history. 

In the first movie's " Dancing Queen " sequence, an old Greek woman is seen walking and carrying a large pile of sticks on her back. When she hears the uplifting sound of ABBA's "Dancing Queen," she tosses the sticks to the ground, and joins in the dancing fray. The famous moment got a mention in a New York Times article about the fantastical, joyous nature of the movie; however,  Refinery29 commented that the moment highlighted the slightly problematic depiction of Greek tradition. Whether you liked the moment or not, it seems that just about everyone who sees the movie remembers the old Greek woman with the sticks!

It's no wonder that the director and producers of the second film wanted the old woman to make a triumphant return in the second movie. And sure enough, when " Dancing Queen " is reprised in the second film, the very same woman appears with her sticks. Talk about a cinematic Easter egg!

The final dance sequence in the Mamma Mia! sequel was improvised

Both Mamma Mia!  movies feature stellar credits sequences that are sure to have viewers dancing out of the theaters — or out of their living rooms.

In the first movie , the entire cast danced along to "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo," all dressed in '70s inspired sequined outfits. In the second movie , the credit sequence was similar, with the whole cast dancing to "Super Trouper." However, unlike the dancing in the first film's credits, the dancing seen in the credits of the sequel was actually all improvised.  Awards Daily spoke to Ol Parker, director of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , who said, "When they're dancing in "Super Trouper," that's all real. We played the song loudly and sent them off to different corners." Parker continued, explaining, "We'd come around and cherry-pick bits of it." Of course, it's incredibly funny to imagine the cast members choreographing these segments themselves — especially considering that the older men all are seen drinking beer at the bar ! 

Added Parker, "[The cast] just had an absolute hoot." And we have an absolute hoot watching them!

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• DVD & Streaming

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

• Comedy , Musical

Content Caution

In Theaters

• July 20, 2018
• Amanda Seyfried as Sophie; Lily James as Young Donna; Pierce Brosnan as Sam; Stellan Skarsgård as Bill; Colin Firth as Harry; Meryl Streep as Donna; Christine Baranski as Tanya; Julie Walters as Rosie; Cher as Ruby Sheridan

Home Release Date

• October 23, 2018

Distributor

• Universal Pictures

Movie Review

It’s been a year since Sophie’s mom, the indefatigable Donna, passed away. Since then, Sophie has been working like mad on the Greek isle of Kalokairi to fulfill her Mom’s dream: opening an idyllic little hotel dubbed the Bella Donna.

There are, however, complications. Two of Sophie’s three “dads” (it’s never been clear which one is actually her biological father, given the promiscuity surrounding her mother’s pregnancy decades before) aren’t going to be able to attend the opening. Her beau, Sky, is in New York and thinking about staying there. And there’s a threatening storm on the horizon that may well dash the happy beachside celebration altogether.

All of that sends Sophie off on a thoughtful journey. As she shows a couple old friends around the refurbished island property, she reminisces about her twentysomething mom’s challenges years before. Back then, Donna wrestled with questions about her future as she left school and found her way to this little Greek island. She juggled the romantic angst of having three handsome, wayward lovers. And she had storms out on her horizon, too.

If that all sounds like a set-up for some flashback dance sequences and a musical number or two, well, it is.

Positive Elements

The affection between Donna and her various bedmates—Sam, Bill and Harry—may ebb and flow, but it’s definitely clear that the mother-daughter tie between her and Sophie is unwavering. Even as an expectant mom in the past, Donna speaks of gaining strength and comfort from her love for her unborn child.

Spiritual Elements

[ Spoiler Warning ] We see that above-mentioned mother-daughter bond reemphasized in a scene where Sophie takes her own child to be christened at a nearby church. There, she sings a duet of shared love and God’s blessing with an imagined, dream-sequence of her deceased mother.

Sexual & romantic Content

Young Donna, her adult daughter Sophie, and several other women on Kalokairi, wear tops or swimsuits that display midriff and cleavage. And though all this story’s sensual trysts happen off-camera, it’s still very clear that young Donna has sex with three different guys in the course of a week or so. In Harry’s case, he makes it plain that it’s his first sexual experience. We see Donna lounging in bed with a couple of the guys after the fact; two of the young men are shirtless.

Donna’s best friends, Rosie and Tanya, make some randy comments as they talk about their partying ways, specifically the effects certain men have on their intimate anatomy. We see Donna and Sam kiss. Sophie and Sky share a smooch, too. [ Spoiler Warning ] In fact, we learn that this unmarried couple is about to have a baby.

The movie includes several subtle same-sex attraction winks, in the form of a song reference and a couple of quick jokes during the course of the film and again in the closing credits.

On carefree (and, usually, moral-free) Kalokairi, there’s rarely much consideration of the consequences of one’s intimate liaisons. There is one exception, however: An elderly woman frowns at some people’s behavior. She sizes up one young man and berates him for his “wandering eye and restless groin.”

Violent Content

A swimmer flounders in the water until someone jumps in to help him.

Crude or Profane Language

One misuse of Jesus’ name and three exclamations of “oh my god” join one use of “h—.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Alcohol flows freely on this little Greek isle—both in a local bar and at various social events. Donna and her acquaintances regularly imbibe beer, wine, vodka and umbrella topped cocktails. The opening celebration of Sophie’s hotel showcases plenty of partiers with drinks, as well.

In fact, a portrait of an adult Donna in the present depicts her with a drink in her hand. Her husband says that if she were there for Sophie’s celebration, she would be drinking and dancing until she fell over.

Other noteworthy Elements

Thinking critically about your choices is never really encouraged on Kalokairi. In fact, one guy tells young Donna, “You think too much, you get unhappy.” Similarly, a friend tells Sophie to stop worrying about her choices and “do what makes your soul shine.”

The second Mamma Mia movie has problems. And they show up almost as soon as the first golden rays of sunlight hit the shores of Kalokairi and the first chord of an ABBA love song is strummed.

The original movie covered the storyline of Donna and her three potential baby daddies. So flashing back and revisiting that “origin story” again with a young Donna, younger versions of her BFFs (Tanya and Rosie), and youthified versions of her hunka-hunks (Bill, Sam and Harry) really doesn’t advance this narrative much. Mostly what we get are musical moments that reveal a cast full of pretty people with no discernable musical skills.

That’s not to say that there aren’t a couple of sweet moments to enjoy here, or some ensemble sing-and-dance numbers worthy of a smile. Lily James as a young Donna and Amanda Seyfried as current-day Sophie both inject their smiling effervescence into everything they do. But effervescence and a nice moment or two alone aren’t enough to offset this sequel’s aesthetic and moral stumblings.

Let’s face it, most of the truly memorable ABBA hits were used in the first movie musical. This film’s crop of B-sides doesn’t generate enough musical pizazz to keep young Donna’s tale skipping along. Or your toes tapping along, for that matter. Seeing Donna frolic about during her Oxford valedictorian speech singing “When I Kissed the Teacher,” for instance, just feels … odd . At best.

And whereas the first pic had just a few lyrical plot holes to fill with distractingly frothy dance routines now and again, this one has … plot caverns . And a lot less froth to go ’round.

Frankly, though, the moral potholes in this sequel once again present this musical’s most off-key moments. You’re supposed to overlook the casual sleep-around worldview here and just enjoy the bounciness of things. After all, a young woman with three “dads” is fun , right?

But the lesson, “Do as you please in your sun-dappled youth,” isn’t a great message for the kids in the audience. And the real costs, emotionally and relationally, of Donna’s casual promiscuity aren’t really weighed here.

Will diehard ABBA fans be inspired to belt out “Thank You for the Music” after sitting through this flick? Maybe. But I doubt many will be screaming “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” for another sequel.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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"Shrill and Stagey"

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

What You Need To Know:

(RoRoRo, FeFe, HoHo, Pa, LLL, SS, N, AA, DD, M) Very strong hippy Romantic worldview with strong feminist view where girl searches for her father who could be one of three men because her mother slept around at the time she was concieved, plus some solid homosexual references, including men kiss and want to “get married” and there are pagan references to a Greek goddess; 6 obscenities and at least 48 profanities (two strong); some pratfalls, but no serious violence; constant discussion of sex by women and, to a lesser degree, by men in wedding party, during one song woman places mock phallus between her legs, woman slides down banister hurting herself, young African American man tries to have relationship with older woman, who mocks “going down” on him, one person turns out to be homosexual, and two men kiss; brief rear male nudity, some upper male nudity and low cut dresses; lots of alcohol use, some to get drunk; drug references; and, lying and deception.

More Detail:

MAMMA MIA! is the movie version of the hit Broadway musical. However, the translation from stage to screen leaves much to be desired. The movie comes across as simply a musical stage play shot on location in Greece. It is not reminiscent of the great movie musicals of yesteryear.

Many people will know the story because of the Broadway musical. Young Sophie, who is the only actress in the movie with a beautiful singing voice, is about to be married to Sky on the Greek island where she and her mother own a hotel. Sophie does not know the identity of her father. She sings to her friends that she found a diary where her mother describes her trysts with Bill, Sam and Harry at the appropriate time to give birth to Sophie.

A flashback shows Bill, Sam and Harry were each hippies, as was Sophie’s mother Donna. Donna stayed on the Greek island to raise Sophie alone because Donna’s mother told her not to come home when she heard Donna was pregnant.

Sophie invites the trio of men to come to the wedding. Donna, however, does not know about the three potential fathers showing up. When they arrive, she is horrified and embarrassed. The groom, Sky, gets upset because he realizes that the whole wedding may be just a ruse so that Sophie can find her father.

Lots of musical numbers describe the actions and emotions leading up to the wedding. Although no one wants to spoil this mediocre movie, it does not end on a Christian note but rather on a Romantic one.

MAMMA MIA! is a movie for aging hippies about aging hippies. In fact, it says so in the movie. Donna’s two friends continually reminisce about their youth when they were 17, footloose and sexually liberated. There is some hope that conscience, morals and decency are going to prevail when Donna becomes concerned about confronting her three boyfriends. One man has turned into a homosexual, the other is a never married adventurer, and the third, Sam, played by Pierce Brosnan, had a failed marriage. Instead of fulfilling the moral imperative for Sophie to discover her true father and her mother to deal with the issues in her life, the three men all agree to be Sophie’s father.

The movie has some elements to recommend. Amanda Seyfried who plays Sophie has a beautiful voice. Some of the numbers are memorable, but most of them are earthy, unbearable and too loud. Even so, Meryl Streep does a great job with the song, “Winner Takes All,” but it is a Broadway style show tune that will not appeal to younger audiences.

There is much overt and implied sexual conversation and activity in MAMMA MIA! During one particularly sexually charged song, a young black man tries to take advantage of one of Donna’s older friends, and the friend commits a lewd act. There are similar off-color moments scattered throughout the movie.

The island on which the story takes place is supposed to be the location of the Greek goddess Aphrodite’s fountain. During the movie, they find the fountain, which explodes in the middle of the courtyard. Thus, the Greek Goddess of Love defines the storyline.

Much of the music is too shrill to be enjoyable. Most of the cast is intentionally unattractive and unappealing. The camerawork is beautiful, but the dances leave much to be desired and are reminiscent of the sex-filled comedy LOVE GURU.

It is extremely difficult to successfully adapt a musical to the big screen. Since this musical comedy is beloved, and yet the movie is so shrill, it appears as if the director has not taken the time to translate it effectively from one medium to the other. Even if she had done a better job, she would have needed a stronger moral compass to appeal to media-wise viewers.

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People Movie Review Mamma Mia

CRITICS REVIEWS & SCORES

50 Director:  Phyllida Lloyd Writer:  Catherine Johnson Genre:  Musical Romantic Comedy Duration:   1hr 38mins Staring:    Meryl Streep

Theater Review: ‘Mamma Mia!,’ You Should Go Again

The show absolutely hilarious and it's hard to single out any cast member because they're all exceptional, especially Christine Sherrill and San Diego native Alisa Melendez

There’s a reason why Mamma Mia , the hit musical featuring the songs of ABBA, has had such lasting power: Because it’s absolutely hilarious and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The show, which premiered first premiere on Broadway in 2001 and has since played to audiences all over the world (including this week at the San Diego Civic Theater), gives you a reprieve on what’s going on in your life and let’s you sit back and in enjoy yourself for two and a half hours.

If you haven’t seen the show (or movie), it’s about a young woman name Sophie (San Diego native Alisa Melendez ) is about to be married. She’s never known her father but has finally figured out that it’s one of three men that her mom Donna ( Christine Sherrill ) had a relationship… uh, fling… with twenty-one years ago: Sam ( Victor Wallace ), Harry ( Rob Marnell ) or Bill ( Jim Newman ). Unbeknownst to her mom, she invites all three to the wedding where she finally hopes to see who it is. When guests start to arrive, including Donna’s friends Rosie ( Carly Sakolove ) and Tanya ( Jalynn Steele ) , her plot begins to kick in.

It’s hard to single out any cast member because they’re all exceptional. Sherrill and Melendez anchor all of the craziness in reality and their voices are so crisp and perfect. The performance I attended was Melendez’s second night in the role and the absolute joy she radiated was infectious. Keep an eye out for her because she’s going places. Sakolove and Steele know how to ring every bit of comic gold out of their scenes.

Written by Catherine Johnson with music & lyrics by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeusis, written by Catherine Johnson, and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the show has has every single ABBA song that you know and love and then some. This is the third (or fourth?) time I’ve seen it honestly this is the best version yet.

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Movie Review | 'Mamma Mia!'

Does Your Mother Know You Sing Abba Tunes?

By A.O. Scott

• July 18, 2008

Even those of us who habitually favor serious, austere, aesthetically correct drinks — single-malt Scotch, green tea, pomegranate juice, whatever — may occasionally indulge in a frivolous cocktail bedecked with fruit and umbrellas and served in a bulbous, sugar-rimmed glass. The next morning’s headache seems a small price to pay for the rush of cheap liquor and uninhibited conviviality. As long as you don’t operate heavy machinery or wake up in the wrong bed, or operate heavy machinery in the wrong bed, what’s the harm?

All of which is to say: Don’t be afraid of “Mamma Mia!” (That exclamation point, by the way, is part of the title, and it’s by far the most understated thing about the movie.) 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.

Actually you don’t have much choice on either front. If you insist on folding your arms, looking at your watch and defending yourself against this mindless, hedonistic assault on coherence, you are unlikely to survive until the end credits (which may, by themselves, kill you all over again). Surrender, on the other hand, is easy and painless. It’s Greece! It’s bellybuttons! It’s Meryl Streep! It’s Abba!

See that girl! Watch that scene! If you change your mind, I’m the first in line. Mamma Mia, here I go again. Like me, you may have spent the last 30 years struggling to get lines like those out of your head — and wondering what they were doing there in the first place — but you might as well have been trying to compost Styrofoam. Those shimmery, layered arrangements, those lyrics in a language uncannily like English, those symmetrical Nordic voices — they all add up to something alarmingly permanent, a marshmallow monument on the cultural landscape. When our species dies out, leaving the planet to roaches and robots, the insects will beat their little wings to the tune of “Waterloo” as Wall-E and Eve warble along.

And the darn thing still won’t make any sense. Nor does “Mamma Mia!,” but that’s hardly a criticism. The story (by Catherine Johnson) is more or less an early Shakespeare comedy reimagined as an episode of “Hannah Montana.” The ingénue, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), is about to be married on the sun-drenched Greek island where she lives with her mother, Donna (Ms. Streep). Sophie is the just-ripe fruit of a summer fling, with the complicating factor that Donna had three flings during the summer in question, and Sophie doesn’t know whether her dad is Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) or Harry (Colin Firth). But even though she knows them only as names in an old diary, she manages to track them down and invite all three to her wedding. Lo and behold, they all show up, as do Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters), old pals of Donna’s from the crazy days of her rock ’n’ roll youth.

Just when, exactly, those crazy days were is a bit vague. A song lyric refers to the “time of the Flower Power.” (Surely you remember the Flower Power!) But Sophie sure doesn’t look 40. At one point, Harry recalls the Johnny Rotten T-shirt he had back when he knew Donna, which is 10 years closer to the mark but still about 10 years off. Never mind. Abba is timeless: “The history book up on my shelf/ is always repeating itself.”

The real problem is that the director of “Mamma Mia!,” Phyllida Lloyd, seems have taken the unapologetic silliness of the project (which she directed onstage) as permission to be sloppy. Abba made some of the most highly polished, tightly engineered pop junk ever. There is a kind of perfection in some of those hits that is undeniable even if — or maybe especially if — you can’t stand to hear them. But in matters of craft and technique “Mamma Mia!” proves to be remarkably shoddy, a tangle of clumsy cuts, mismatched shots, bad lighting, egregious overdubbing and scenes in which characters appear to have been haphazardly Photoshopped into the scenery.

It is safe to say that Ms. Streep gives the worst performance of her career — safe to say because it is so clearly what she intends, and she is not an actress capable of failure. There is a degree of fascination in watching an Oscar-winning Yale School of Drama graduate mug and squirm, shimmy and shriek and generally fill every moment with antic, purposeless energy, as if she were hogging the spotlight in an eighth-grade musical.

She is saved, and also upstaged, by Ms. Walters and, especially, by Ms. Baranski, whose cougar-on-the-prowl rendition of “Does Your Mother Know” is the one genuinely, show-stoppingly sexy sequence in a film that more often flails between forced cheekiness and unearned sentiment.

I know: I promised you a good time, and I’m describing a train wreck. But it’s hard not to share the evident delight of most of the performers. Ms. Streep overdoes it, yes, but you can’t accuse her of condescending to the material any more than you can fault her for taking it too seriously.

The impression left by the old pros who make up most of the cast is that they have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to prove, and that worrying about dignity is for newbies and amateurs. So Mr. Brosnan bellows his way through a couple of duets, Mr. Skarsgard displays his tattooed buttocks, and Mr. Firth consents to appear in a spiked dog collar.

Ms. Seyfried has a harder time, though not for any lack of effort or talent. She has to work while the old timers are having fun, and to carry the picture’s unconvincing, flat-footed attempts at melodrama. Ms. Seyfried’s eyes are as blue as the Aegean and almost as wide, and her natural vivacity makes her performance seem almost authentic, but she’s not in a position to let go of her vanity and clown around.

It’s one thing to ham it up in a zany, messy musical if you’re the actual Meryl Streep. If you have the desire (or the potential) to be the next Meryl Streep, the stakes are higher and the risks more pronounced.

But Ms. Seyfried, who has proven her skill on “Big Love” and elsewhere, is likely to emerge from “Mamma Mia!” unscathed. Really, this movie is incapable of harming anyone, except moviegoers with the good taste and bad manners to resist its relentless, ridiculous charm.

“Mamma Mia!” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has some sexual references and sexy behavior.

Opens on Friday nationwide.

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd; written by Catherine Johnson, based on the original musical book by Ms. Johnson, originally conceived by Judy Craymer based on the songs of Abba; director of photography, Haris Zambarloukos; edited by Lesley Walker; music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, some songs with Stig Anderson; choreographer, Anthony Van Laast; production designer, Maria Djurkovic; produced by Ms. Craymer and Gary Goetzman; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes.

WITH: Meryl Streep (Donna), Pierce Brosnan (Sam), Colin Firth (Harry), Stellan Skarsgard (Bill), Julie Walters (Rosie), Dominic Cooper (Sky), Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) and Christine Baranski (Tanya).

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Tickets on Sale Now to MAMMA MIA! at the Kentucky Center

To date, MAMMA MIA! has been seen in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $4 billion at the box office.  

Single tickets for the upcoming engagement of MAMMA MIA! in Louisville are now on sale.   LATEST NEWS Tickets will be available at the Kentucky Center box office, by visiting broadwayinlouisville.com , or by calling 502-584-7777.  Since premiering in London in 1999 and on Broadway in 2001, the irresistible musical has captured the hearts of millions around the globe. The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island paradise, all unfolding to the storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs, has now been seen live on stage by 65 million people across the world and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again. MAMMA MIA! opened on Broadway in 2001 where it played for a record-breaking 14 years, first at the Winter Garden Theatre, then at the Broadhurst Theatre.  The show also toured North America from 2000-2017 with four different touring companies spanning this period. Produced by Judy Craymer , MAMMA MIA! The Movie became the highest grossing live action musical film of all time upon its release in 2008. A second film, MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again, opened in July   2018 and is the most successful live musical movie sequel of all time. The films starred a host of stars including Meryl Streep , Christine Baranski , Julie Walters , Pierce Brosnan , Colin Firth , Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried , Dominic Cooper , Lily James and Cher. With music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson , directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast . The production is designed by Mark Thompson , with lighting design by Howard Harrison , sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken , and musical supervision, additional material & arrangements by Martin Koch . Louisville SHOWS The Bunbury Theatre (9/27-10/05) Derby Dinner Playhouse (8/14-9/29) The Bunbury Theatre (9/06-9/22) Market House Theatre (9/05-9/29) Lexington Opera House (11/21-11/24)     Recommended For You Common Sense Media Movie & TV reviews for parents For Parents For Educators Our Work and Impact Or browse by category: Movie Reviews Best Movie Lists Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More Common Sense Selections for Movies 50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12 Best TV Lists Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More Common Sense Selections for TV Video Reviews of TV Shows Best Kids' Shows on Disney+ Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix Book Reviews Best Book Lists Common Sense Selections for Books 8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books 50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12 Game Reviews Best Game Lists Common Sense Selections for Games Video Reviews of Games Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun Podcast Reviews Best Podcast Lists Common Sense Selections for Podcasts Parents' Guide to Podcasts App Reviews Best App Lists Social Networking for Teens Gun-Free Action Game Apps Reviews for AI Apps and Tools YouTube Channel Reviews YouTube Kids Channels by Topic Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers Preschoolers (2-4) Little Kids (5-7) Big Kids (8-9) Pre-Teens (10-12) Teens (13+) Screen Time Social Media Online Safety Identity and Community How to Help Kids Build Character Strengths with Quality Media Family Tech Planners Digital Skills All Articles Latino Culture Black Voices Asian Stories Native Narratives LGBTQ+ Pride Best of Diverse Representation List Multicultural Books YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories Common Sense Says Parents Say 54 Reviews Kids Say 178 Reviews Based on 178 kid reviews Kid Reviews Report this review, great film with abba's best songs, probably the greatest jukebox musical ever made.. This title has: Great messages Great role models Too much sex Too much swearing Sex Crazed Rolemodels Where Disappointing. Seriously amazing. Too much drinking/drugs/smoking ultimate summer movie I was shocked when i found out this was a pg ngl cause i think it should be a 12 ngl- if i was under 12 i don’t think i’d get it. This Movie is amazing. I have been obsessed ever since I watched it. What to watch next. Strictly Ballroom Hairspray (2007) Musicals for Kids Related topics. Music and Sing-Along Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. Mamma Mia! (4K UHD) Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. Customers also watched 28275 global ratings How are ratings calculated? Toggle Expand Toggle Expand About Amazon Investor Relations Amazon Devices Amazon Science Sell products on Amazon Sell on Amazon Business Sell apps on Amazon Become an Affiliate Advertise Your Products Self-Publish with Us Host an Amazon Hub › See More Make Money with Us Amazon Business Card Shop with Points Reload Your Balance Amazon Currency Converter Amazon and COVID-19 Your Account Your Orders Shipping Rates & Policies Returns & Replacements Manage Your Content and Devices Conditions of Use Privacy Notice Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure Your Ads Privacy Choices I Watched 30 Movies With My Teen This Summer, And I’m So Impressed With Her Favorites (But Yes, She Hated Madame Web) Dare to get inside the mind of a teenager! About a week into my daughters’ summer break, my 13-year-old mentioned in passing how many movies she’d already seen since school ended. This isn’t a particularly unusual occurrence, since her dad and I both try to ingest as much content as is humanly possible, but it did get me thinking about how to enhance her experience. I started keeping track of what we watched together, picking her brain on everything from the classics to the new 2024 movie releases . We ended up making it through 30 flicks, and I couldn’t be prouder of what she said was her favorite. Also, yeah, she hated Madame Web . Movie nights have always been a big thing in our family, and especially now that our daughter is old enough to watch most things, it’s actually really interesting to hear her perspective on the different genres from different eras. I’d never have guessed, though, that of everything she saw this summer, Airplane! , one of the best movies from the ‘80s , would be her favorite. My Teen Screamed In Laughter Watching Airplane! When it comes to teenagers (and kids in general), you never know what’s going to come out of their mouths. I showed her the list I’d compiled of the movies we’d watched, and there was definitely a moment where I had to consider what my reaction would be if she said something like The Garfield Movie was her favorite. Thankfully, she chose the 1980 classic Airplane! , and when I asked why she went with an older movie, she said: Older movies are better. Be still my heart. She liked that the jokes were nonstop and not overtly vulgar. Obviously she can appreciate some dark humor, because boy are there a lot of WTF moments in Airplane! . Really, though, what sealed the deal for her was the scene where the stewardess Randy plays a song for the sick girl Lisa, inadvertently knocking her IV out. My daughter howled in laughter and tears flowed. That is absolutely the reaction you’d hope for. There were some things we had to explain to her, like who Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Barbara Billingsley were, but the sheer volume of laughs that didn’t require pop culture knowledge was more than enough to make up for that. Superbad And The Truman Show Made Up The Rest Of Her Top 3 There was a discussion beforehand about whether Superbad — one of the best movies of the 2000s — was too inappropriate for a 13-year-old, and ultimately I insisted it was fine. Almost immediately, I knew I was wrong. Somehow I’d forgotten just how crude the humor is, not to mention Seth and Evan’s ultimate goal of bringing alcohol to the party in hopes of hooking up with Jules and Becca. However, my teenager loved it. CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News There were more screams to be had with Seth’s dick drawings, and she may have writhed herself onto the floor in horror when Jonah Hill ’s character got period blood on his pants. She agreed there are plenty of reasons to hate Superbad , but she really enjoyed McLovin and his night out with the cops, enough to make up for the rest. In the end, was Superbad too inappropriate for her? She answered: Yes, but it was worth it. Worth it enough, even, to endure multiple conversations with me about teenage boys, high school parties and how using alcohol to make someone like you is disgusting at best. As for The Truman Show , I was surprised that something more dramatic made her Top 3, but she said she loved when the movie — one of Jim Carrey’s best — showed the viewers in bars and at home watching Truman’s every move. In the teen's words: Existential crises make for good TV. She found it interesting to watch Truman’s life crumble around him, and she liked that she had no idea what was going to happen next. Madame Web Was The Only Movie My Teenager ‘Hated’ Now we’ve got to get into the Madame Web of it all. Coyote Ugly Billy Madison Hot Fuzz and The World's End Bad Boys Airplane! The Garfield Movie The Truman Show Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Donnie Darko Mamma Mia! Inside Out and Inside Out 2 Madame Web Cabin in the Woods Twister and Twisters All four Beverly Hills Cop movies Abigail Oujia and Ouija: Origin of Evil Unbreakable Trap Superbad Alien Major League Tarot My 13-year-old had her own ranking system that went from “Favorite” to “Hated,” and only one movie fell into the latter category (which was written in red, incidentally, and underlined twice). She said she didn’t find the story interesting and didn’t like any of the characters. She absolutely abhorred the end when Dakota Johnson ’s character used her powers to comment on the take-out the teens had gotten and to say “Bless you” to Anya before she sneezed. For real, how obnoxious. What I found interesting about my teen’s strong reaction to this film was the fact that she didn’t know how badly the film was getting panned. I had read Madame Web ’s negative reviews and mentioned it wasn’t supposed to be great, but that’s never stopped us from enjoying a clunker. (To that point, my daughter ranked Tarot and Abigail as “So Bad It’s Good.”) I may be biased, but I think the girl’s got good taste. We Saw Twisters; My Daughter Is Not A Glen Powell Fan She may agree with the general consensus on Madame Web , but when it comes to Glen Powell , I think she's in the minority. After watching both Twisters and its predecessor, she claimed to hate the romance stories in both (that’s fair) and described Powell's character as “standoffish and a jerk,” despite his well-intentioned motivations. (I promise my teen hasn’t been on Reddit .) She also thought Anthony Ramos was under-utilized, which is not a surprising statement, coming from my Hamilton - and In the Heights -loving theater kid. Inside Out 2 May Have Hit Too Close To Home For My 13-Year-Old I thought my daughter would relate to Inside Out 2 ’s Riley, as she is also 13 and has struggled with anxiety (she gave me permission to say that), but the second-hand embarrassment was just too much for her. She said: The Riley parts were important, but is that how all adults see teenagers? Embarrassing little crapheads? I said maybe that’s how adults remember feeling during their own teen years, but she remained skeptical. She was still all for the representation and thought Anxiety as a character was portrayed well. Quick Hits From My Teenager So many movies, so little time. Here are some quick thoughts from our other ventures into film this summer: Coyote Ugly: “ Good movie, but the romance, ugh! ” Trap: Multiple forced viewings of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film did not negatively affect her opinion of this movie. She called it “ Fine. ” The Garfield Movie: “ Daddy issues propaganda ,” she spits out, then bursts into giggles. Bad Boys: “ I didn’t like some parts of it .” She felt so bad for Marcus’ wife that she couldn’t enjoy the humor, which I found sweet and hilarious. She ranked it "Meh," and did not continue the series. Donnie Darko: “ Ooh, that was a good one. Love and fear, gang. Spread it. ” Mamma Mia!: I cannot get her to stop saying, “ Is that ABBA?! ” Billy Madison: “ So cringe, but so good. ” I’m glad that I kept track of our movie-filled summer, because it’s been a blast talking through these with my teenager. She brings a different, and sometimes really unexpected, perspective to movies, whether I’m seeing them in the theater for the first time with her or I’ve watched them multiple times over the years. I’d fully recommend it to any parent. Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks. One Of Shooter McGavin's Best Happy Gilmore Lines Was Apparently A Real Life Ad-Libbed Celebration 32 Famous Actors Who've Played A Wizard, Witch Or Magician Why Are Geena Davis And Alec Baldwin Not In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? Tim Burton Explains Most Popular 2 I Watched 30 Movies With My Teen This Summer, And I’m So Impressed With Her Favorites (But Yes, She Hated Madame Web) 3 AJ Styles And 11 WWE Superstars Who Need More Television Time Than They're Currently Getting 4 A 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Cast Member Was Allegedly Barred From The Tell-All, And I'm Bummed About It 5 One Of Shooter McGavin's Best Happy Gilmore Lines Was Apparently A Real Life Ad-Libbed Celebration We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Mamma Mia 3 gets exciting update from star Christine Baranski Here we go again! Mamma Mia star Christine Baranski has shared an exciting update on the anticipated third film . Since the release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in 2018, fans have clamoured for a third instalment in the musical series inspired by the iconic works of ABBA. Baranski, who plays Tanya Chesham-Leigh in the films, has now revealed that she recently caught up with Mamma Mia creator Judy Craymer to discuss the threequel's plot. "I was in London with Judy Craymer at our favourite watering hole, she is planning Mamma Mia 3 . She gave me the narrative plotline of how it's going to happen. That's all I can say!" she told The Hollywood Reporter . Related: Stellan Skarsgård loved playing a "bimbo" in Mamma Mia "But it's not like, 'Oh, I wish it could happen!' Judy Craymer makes things happen. She made number two happen, and it was a phenomenal hit. I wouldn't put it past Judy Craymer to get everybody back together." Baranski went on to discuss why the musical adaptations are so beloved, saying: "It's just the kind of movie that makes people happy. Mamma Mia made so many millions of people around the world happy. "Is it a little dumb, a little campy? That's part of its charm. When I'm in Europe, I can't tell you how many little girls want to be photographed with Tanya. It troubles me a little, that Tanya's their favourite character. But, hey, we're always attracted to that kind of snappy, sexy lady." Related: Best movie box sets to buy in 2024 In October 2023, Craymer confirmed that a third movie definitely "will happen" – it's just a matter of when. Meryl Streep , who plays Donna Sheridan in the movies, later revealed that she's due to have a discussion about the latest instalment. "I don't know how they're going to do it. They have an idea. I haven't heard it yet but it's in [my diary] and I'm going to hear about it pretty soon," she said to Deadline , adding: "Of course I want to do it. I think folks love it." Amanda Seyfried , Pierce Brosnan and Lily James have also shared that they would love to rejoin their cast members for a third outing. Mamma Mia! is available to stream on Netflix. August 2024 gift ideas and deals Glen Powell Twisters T-shirt Richard Osman: We Solve Murders PS5 Slim Consoles Amazon Music Unlimited free trial Deadpool & Wolverine's 'best friends' necklace Audible free trial Apple TV+ 7-day free trial Sign up for Disney+ Buy Alison Hammond's outfits The Street of Lies: An Official Coronation Street Interactive Novel Shop Sky TV, broadband and mobile Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at  The Evening Standard . A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from  Bridgerton  to  The Witcher . She can also recite entire episodes of New Girl ,  Brooklyn Nine-Nine  and  Parks and Recreation . In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer. Mamma Mia! 3: Everything you need to know Meryl Streep shares exciting Mamma Mia 3 update Stellan Skarsgård loved playing Mamma Mia "bimbo" Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream crowns winners Mamma Mia fans compare reality show to Love Island Mamma Mia 3 gets another promising update Meryl Streep teases idea for Mamma Mia 3 return Mamma Mia: Amanda Seyfried asked about third movie Mamma Mia 3 will bring back Meryl Streep Drag Race UK and Glee stars join ITV reality show Mamma Mia 3 gets a promising update Pierce Brosnan gives hopeful update on Mamma Mia 3 The MAMMA MIA! International Tour continues into 2025 2 August 2024 The  MAMMA MIA!  International Tour recently played to venues across China, and it continues booking at venues across East Asia and Europe into 2025. For the full list of all of our International Tour venues for 2024 and 2025 and to book tickets –  Visit our website . Back to News Stay up to date with MAMMA MIA! To receive our latest updates and news by email please subscribe to the MAMMA MIA! newsletter. Choose your preferred language. 490 IMAGES Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again Mamma Mia! (2008) Review Mamma Mia! The Movie wiki, synopsis, reviews, watch and download Movie Review: "Mamma Mia!" (2008) Movie Review: ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ is good fun Mamma Mia VIDEO Mamma Mia movie Premiere at Ziegfeld NYC Mamma Mia movie Premiere at Ziegfeld NYC MAMMA MIA! Celebrating 24 Years in London ❤️ SNEAK PEEK: Mamma Mia! International Tour MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN MOVIE REVIEW Emotional Mamma Mia! The Movie Fan Made Trailer COMMENTS Dancing Queens movie review & film summary (2008) Dancing Queens. Comedy. 108 minutes ‧ PG-13 ‧ 2008. Roger Ebert. July 17, 2008. 3 min read. Meryl Streep (center) shows off her terpsichorean abilities. I saw the stage version of "Mamma Mia!" in London, where for all I know, it is now entering the second century of its run, and I was underwhelmed. The film version has the advantage of ... "Mamma Mia!" may be mindless but it's a lot of fun, too All of which is to say: Don't be afraid of "Mamma Mia!" (That exclamation point, by the way, is part of the title, and it's by far the most understated thing about the movie.) You can have a ... Mamma Mia! Movie Review Upbeat, silly ABBA musical has sexual innuendos. Read Common Sense Media's Mamma Mia! review, age rating, and parents guide. Mamma Mia! (2008) is a masterpiece : r/movies Mama Mia, in my opinion, is a great movie while simultaneously being bad. It's super fun to watch and rock out to the music assuming you like abba, and who doesn't. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again movie review (2018) 4 min read. If you loved the first "Mamma Mia!" movie back in 2008, well, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" offers even more—and even less. The sequel (which is also a prequel) features a bigger cast, a longer running time, extra subplots and additional romantic entanglements. But it's emptier than its predecessor and has even lower stakes. Mamma Mia! (2008) On the stage, MAMMA MIA! is a somewhat justified excuse to revive a bunch of ABBA tracks wrapped into a completely implausible, overly romantic farce. Young Sophie (played on screen by Amanda Seyfried) is but 20 and about to marry the very supportive and very handsome, Sky (Dominic Cooper). Something is missing though. Movie Review: Mamma Mia! (2008) It is certainly a fun movie that captures the viewer's interest - for the most part. The idea of having a girl seeking out her birth father rings true with our current state of affairs. Telling it in a fun, lighthearted manner makes it all the more palatable. The failure is casting actors and actresses that don't have an iota of strength ... Mamma Mia! Summary and Synopsis Mamma Mia! is a musical film set on a Greek island where Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) seeks to discover the identity of her father before her wedding. The film stars Meryl Streep as her mother, Donna, and features numerous songs by ABBA. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the story unfolds as three possible fathers, portrayed by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård, arrive on the island. Mamma Mia! Review Read the Empire Movie review of Mamma Mia!. Cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers. Guaranteed to put grins on tweenies who... "Mamma Mia" Review Unless you absolutely hate the music of "ABBA," it's practically impossible to hate "Mamma Mia," a joyous and vibrant musical filled with toe-tapping numbers, smiles galore and surprisingly strong performances from Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. Take a chance and catch "Mamma Mia" on the big screen. It won't be the same experience on DVD! Mamma Mia! A movie review by James Berardinelli. Mamma Mia! delivers exactly what one can reasonably expect from it. It's a faithful adaptation of the stage play of the same name but, more importantly, it's a repository for ABBA songs - nearly two dozen in total. Considering that the average running length of each of these songs is between two and three ... The Untold Truth Of Mamma Mia! When Mamma Mia!, the 2008 musical flick starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried was released, the movie was pretty much an instant hit. If you're looking to discover some behind-the-scenes secrets about the whacky, colorful world of the film -- you're in luck. Here's the untold truth of Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Movie Review Musical sequel is escapist fun; some innuendo, drinking. Read Common Sense Media's Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again review, age rating, and parents guide. Parent reviews for Mamma Mia! Read Mamma Mia! reviews from parents on Common Sense Media. Become a member to write your own review. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Conclusion The second Mamma Mia movie has problems. And they show up almost as soon as the first golden rays of sunlight hit the shores of Kalokairi and the first chord of an ABBA love song is strummed. The original movie covered the storyline of Donna and her three potential baby daddies. So flashing back and revisiting that "origin story" again with a young Donna, younger versions of her ... MAMMA MIA! Is MAMMA MIA! family friendly? Find out only at Movieguide. The Family and Christian Guide to Movie Reviews and Entertainment News. Mamma Mia Movie Review Bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to movie audiences, Summer 2008 is the season for Mamma Mia! The three women who created the worldwide smash stage hit—global producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd—repeat their roles in bringing this joyful, musical story to the big ... Theater Review: 'Mamma Mia!,' You Should Go Again There's a reason why Mamma Mia, the hit musical featuring the songs of ABBA, has had such lasting power: Because it's absolutely hilarious and doesn't take itself too seriously. The show, which premiered first premiere on Broadway in 2001 and has since played to audiences all over the world (including this week at the San Diego Civic Theater), gives you a reprieve on what's going on in ... Does Your Mother Know You Sing Abba Tunes? Mamma Mia! Directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Comedy, Musical, Romance. PG-13. 1h 48m. By A.O. Scott. July 18, 2008. Even those of us who habitually favor serious, austere, aesthetically correct drinks ... Meet the mastermind behind 'Mamma Mia!' The movie was an adaptation of the musical of the same name, which Craymer dreamed up, and opened in London almost a decade earlier. "Mamma Mia!" Tickets on Sale Now to MAMMA MIA! at the Kentucky Center Mamma Mia! producer Judy Craymer has her eye on Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig to helm a third film in the record-breaking movie musical franchise. 4 Review: MAMMA MIA! Kid reviews for Mamma Mia! Read Mamma Mia! reviews from kids and teens on Common Sense Media. Become a member to write your own review. Watch Mamma Mia! (4K UHD) Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Mean Girls (2024) Grease (4K UHD) The Summer I Turned Pretty. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Top Gun: Maverick. Twisters. Book Club: The Next Chapter ... Book reviews & recommendations: IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities: IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need: Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print ... I Watched 30 Movies With My Teen This Summer, And I'm ... The Garfield Movie The Truman Show Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Donnie Darko Mamma Mia! Inside Out and Inside Out 2 Madame Web Cabin in the Woods Twister and Twisters All four Beverly Hills ... Mamma Mia 3 gets exciting update from star Christine Baranski Mamma Mia star Christine Baranski has shared an exciting update on the anticipated third film. Since the release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in 2018, fans have clamoured for a third instalment ... The MAMMA MIA! International Tour continues into 2025 the mamma mia! International Tour recently played to venues across China, and it continues booking at venues across East Asia and Europe into 2025. For the full list of all of our International Tour venues for 2024 and 2025 and to book tickets - Visit our website . Review: Mafia and vigilante cliches receive an attractive ... These mobsters fill their palazzos with mostly naked statues (a giant, floating bust of Mussolini earns its laugh), and when a soccer game is won, mamma mia, the celebration! But despite its reductive tendencies, "The Equalizer 3" is still superior to your standard Liam Neeson/"Death Wish" action flick. If the movie didn't sacrifice ... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis