SPOILERS AHEAD
Mamma Mia! is an American-British romantic comedy musical directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The movie is loosely based on the original London musical also directed by Lloyd, and was the brain child of Judy Craymer who was convinced ABBA songs could be used in a theatrical production, especially after hearing the love ballad The Winner Takes It All. Craymer along with British playwright Catherine Johnson also worked on this film. Johnson being the original musical's scriptwriter wrote the movie's script, Craymer was an executive producer alongside Gary Goetzman as well as Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
The film stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, and Christine Baranski.
Set on the idyllic Greek island of Kalokairi it tells the story of Donna Sheridan (Streep) an independent manageress and owner of her own hotel. Donna has a 20 year-old daughter by the name of Sophie (Seyfried) who is getting married to Sky (Cooper). Upon finding Donna's old diary Sophie discovers that there were three men: Sam Carmichael (Brosnan), Harry Bright (Firth) and Bill Anderson (Skarsgård) and learns that one of them could be her father. She decides to invite all three of them to her wedding.
Sophie later reveals this to her friends Ali (Rachel MacDowall) and Lisa (Ashley Lilley) who have agreed to be her bridesmaids. Donna has invited her old friends/bandmates Rosie (Walters) and Tanya (Baranski) to the wedding to help her out. She is however completely unaware of what Sophie has done and is taken by surprise when Sam, Harry and Bill arrive on the island. This causes Donna to have a mid-life crisis, and it is up to Rosie and Tanya to lift her spirits. While at the same time Sophie bonds with the three men, and discovers she has a trait from each of them. Things get complicated when all three men agree to give Sophie away, and realizing the mess she created she faints at her own bachelorette party.
The next day Sophie runs into Donna who is convinced that she wants the wedding called off. This causes Sophie to yell at Donna, and openly states she wants to avoid all the mistakes Donna has made in her life. At the same time Donna is pursued by Sam, the two realize they still love each other but are too busy for each other. Meanwhile, Tanya is courted by Sky's friend and best man Pepper (Philip Michael) despite the fact that he is old enough to be her son. Sophie then runs to Sky and admits what she did, angry and hurt Sky runs off. At the same time Sam tells Sophie that marriage is not always a happy thing.
Sophie then runs back to her mother and asks her to help her dress for the wedding, Donna is delighted and they mend their relationship. Sophie then learns that Donna was disowned by her mother when she got pregnant, she then proceeds to ask Donna to give her away. Donna happily agrees and as the two prepare to go to the chapel she finds herself accosted by Sam. Sam demands to know why Donna will not explain why she won't talk about their relationship. Donna then says she still loves him despite her better judgement and the fact that he broke her heart by being engaged.
Donna then proceeds to run into the chapel where the wedding finally begins. As the ceremony begins Donna realizes that she can't hide the fact that the men are there. She then introduces Sophie's dad, but then learns that Sophie invited all three of them. They then all decide to be a third of her father, Sophie surprised decides to call off the wedding. Prompting Sky to run away with her and sail the world. Sam meanwhile decides that the wedding should not go to waste, despite Donna's protest at bigamy. After revealing his divorce Sam pops the question, hesitant Donna accepts it. At the wedding reception Rosie falls in love with Bill, who at first rejects her advances but then ends up loving her too.
The movie closes with Donna and Sam alongside Bill and Harry bidding Sophie and Sky farewell as they sail away from Kalokairi. Donna, Tanya and Rosie then reprise Dancing Queen during the end credits, and then the rest of the cast appears and they all sing the song Waterloo. The movie then finally ends with Sophie singing Thank You For the Music during the end credits.
Told using several popular ABBA songs including_ Honey, Honey, Honey_, Dancing Queen and the iconic titular song Mamma Mia this movie soundtrack is responsible for making ABBA's music hit the charts again. Albeit some bad singing (cough)Pierce Brosnan(cough) the soundtrack is wonderful. The movie has some references to other films including Dirty Dancing and Grease. Meryl Streep's performance of Donna Sheridan is an amazing example of her versatility especially when she sings the love ballad "The Winner Takes It All." "S.O.S" is an interesting scene Brosnan's voice is flat but judging by his body language he is enjoying himself.
If you ignore the bad singing, you will be able to enjoy this film. I highly recommend it and the soundtrack. However, due to royalties and disagreements with UNICEF UMG and Decca Records could not secure the rights to the song Chiquitita which explains why it is not on the CD.
If you have not seen this movie, then what are you waiting for?! Stream it or buy it and do it before July 20 because that is when it's highly anticipated sequel hits theaters!
It's very Greek! - Rosie