20 July, 2008

Mamma Mia-- oh we CAN resist you......

The following is a short bit of my reviewing techniques I have learned in my Reporting the Arts class. It's not a complete review at all. We had to go see the movie for class discusion.

Mamma mia... Oh I can let you go..
The lyrics, the musical, the dancing, but then.. there was the movie.
Mamma Mia follows Sophie, the girl who has been raised 20 years without a father. Then she finds out she may have 3 possible fathers. It's a comedy, it's supposed to be in Greece, and it has a lot of substantial actors.
But they weren't in this film.
With an all star cast like Meryl Streep, Pierce Bronsnan, and Colin Firth you would expect great things from this musical made film. The trouble was these actors had to act as if they were in musical theatre. They were expected to sing, which was their biggest flaw. Bronsnan needs to stick to playing James Bond. His voice made me cringe instantly. Then made me as well as the rest of the audience hysterically laugh. It was one of those moments where we were laughing at them, not with them.
Meryl Streep may be the only plus to the show-- errr film. She can play any part. She can be the villain like in Devil Wears Prada or the fun, spontaneous mother as she is in Mamma Mia. She was made to play any role thrown at her. Her vocal talents are much better than any other actor within the film.
The problem with the film was that it was over the top-- it was over dramatized. It had to be, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt.
If you want to laugh the entire 1 hour and 49 minutes, go see Mamma Mia. But if you're a true Mamma Mia fan and don't want to be offended, I would skip it and stick with the musical.

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