Mamma Mia!

Rating:

* * * *

Verdict:

Cheesy, silly, funny and oh so entertaining!

If you missed the musical

Mamma Mia!

when it hit Auckland in 2004, you've now got the chance to experience on film what over 30 million people worldwide have seen on stage, this incredibly popular musical based on the music of Abba.

This cinematic adaptation is from the same female team that created the musical. Producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd join executive producers Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, and Abba members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, to create a film that might feel a touch haphazard, but is hugely entertaining.

Meryl Streep stars as Donna, an independent solo mother and owner of a small hotel on a Greek Island, who is coming to grips with her daughter Sophie's (Amanda Seyfried) impending marriage. With the wedding only a day away, she is reassured by the presence of her two best mates, Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski), from her one-time singing trio Donna and the Dynamos.

Little does Donna know that Sophie, keen to discover who her father is, has found her mother's diary and invited three men to the wedding, each of which could possibly be her father _ Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgrd).

Streep's enthusiasm for this role is infectious, and she sums up the spirit of the film when she does a hearty dive bomb off a jetty into the Mediterranean.

There is no doubt the more mature actors in this film are fulfilling a dream by appearing in a musical, and while they have gone a little troppo with the excitement of it all, you'd have to be having a really bad day not to just get on board with them.

Streep and Seyfried steal the show when it comes to the  business end of the film, the singing. The boys make rather less of an impression, and Pierce Brosnan's singing is terrible, but his genuine enthusiasm for the role makes his  vocals  an amusing triumph.

This film might embrace the inherent cheesy nature of the musical, but unlike the slick

Hairspray

or

Dreamgirls

it has a more relaxed approach to the performance of the songs. The choreography aims for laughs rather than to be visually stunning,  and while it's obvious some work has gone into the singing, the dancing has been left more to general interpretation. Somehow this all helps add to the fun, relaxed and spontaneous attitude of the film.

It does start to drag three-quarters of the way through, and then struggles to regain the contagious energy it started off with. It also has to be said that visually it's disappointing. There is nothing  innovative when it comes to shooting the ensemble performances, and the cinematography fails to make the most of the idyllic Greek Island setting.

That said, you can't deny that

Mamma Mia!

will brighten up any winter's day. Go on, you know you want to.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast:

Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Stellan Skarsgard

Director:

Phyllida Lloyd

Running time:

109 mins

Rating:

PG (Low level offensive language)

Screening:

SkyCity, Hoyts, Berkeley, Rialto, Bridgeway, Lido