Mamma Mia! – Film Review

Donna (Meryl Streep), an independent hotelier in the Greek islands, is preparing for her daughter’s wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited bride, has a plan. She secretly invites three men from her mother’s past in hope of meeting her real father and having him escort her down the aisle on her big day.

It’s genuinely amazing just how much director Phyllida Lloyd and screenwriter Catherine Johnson were able to do by taking a handful of huge ABBA hits and turning them into one, fully-fledged feature film. Mamma Mia! isn’t just a film that die-hard fans of the popular Swedish pop group – it’s also just a fantastically fun, colorful, happy, and emotional film for the whole family to enjoy.

From the moment the film began, I was surprised by just how much fun I was having. The second I heard the instrumental for “Waterloo” kick in, a humongous smile was spread across my face. But Mamma Mia! isn’t only enjoyable because you’re listening to amazing tunes such as “Super Trouper” and “Dancing Queen” – it’s a legitimately interesting story and an amazing showcase of A-list actors having the time of their lives.

Amanda Seyfried serves as the perfect lead for this movie. There’s not a scene in the movie where she isn’t smiling and lighting up the screen with an infectious sense of glee. Whenever she gets excited about something, so do we. They truly couldn’t have picked a more charismatic and likable lead for the character of Sophie.

Meryl Streep is also terrific in the role of Donna, who has one of the most detailed backstories in the film. You want to learn more about her and you understand that her life has been quite historic. There is a huge past hidden behind those eyes and you can feel it in the way she sings and dances.

And it’s also just amazing that Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth are in this movie as well. All four of these actors deliver some truly fantastic performances throughout the film, and they all look and feel so excited to be a part of this project. You can tell there was true passion that went into making this movie.

One of the only things here that genuinely frustrated me was the ending because it basically doesn’t give you any sort of answers that you may have been looking for. It’s one of those ambiguous endings but it simply doesn’t work whatsoever for this type of film.

Also, some scenes are a little bit unintentionally hilarious and there are a few moments sprinkled throughout that honestly just don’t make a whole lot of sense. But other than that, Mamma Mia! is an infectiously uplifting, joyous celebration of ABBA’s music while also telling a great story of its own.