ViewGuide

Created Aug 04, 2008 02:29AM PST • Edited Jul 25, 2018 07:32PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   No one ever mistook me for a fan of Abba, nor am I the correct gender to crave a big fat musical set in Greece. Still, I have to admit that this ideal date movie is loads of fun. A great cast, terrific songs, idyllic settings, and a surprisingly engaging story make this pop confection worth seeing, no matter what your taste in 70s pop groups.

   That said, I was surprised to see several unattached guys in the audience. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say. Just not a choice I would make.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Meryl Streep proves yet again that she can do it all: sing well, be silly, joyous, strong, vulnerable. The woman is a treasure.

   Amanda Seyfried, known to me primarily as the eldest daughter in HBO’s Big Love, also proves herself an attractively well rounded actress, with a great voice to boot.

   The three Dads РPierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsg̴rd, and Colin Firth Рalong with Dominic Cooper as the groom, ably represent the male side of the proceedings. Brosnan is called upon to do the most singing of the paternal trio, which he does gamely if not memorably.

   Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, two terrific comedic actresses, don’t disappoint as second bananas with plenty of punch left in them.

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

6. Female Stars Really Great 4.5

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    Who would’ve thunk it? A second hit musical in one year. First Sweeney Todd, now Mamma Mia! While totally different in tone, they prove that contemporary movie audiences are open to narrative advancing via song, when done well.

    Here the songs often burst out as if by spontaneous combustion. Fortunately they pretty much all work because they add life to the proceedings and are easy to understand.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

    Director Phyllida Lloyd, heretofore a theater and opera director, clearly knows how to stage a musical.

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Great 4.0

    Many of the lesser songs dragged a bit. But the big numbers – Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia!, SOS, Take a Chance on Me – are great songs by any standard.

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    Whichever Greek island they filmed this on is no doubt already deluged with tourists seeking out the idyllic scenes of the movie.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.3

17. Sex Titillating 1.7

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.2

21. Reality

    Glib 1.2

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.6

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0