The first time I saw this movie I was in Romania, on vacation. I went with my mom, my brother, and his daughter, while his wife and his son went to see Kung Fu Panda. Let me tell you, I was witness to a spectacle you’ll never see here, in US. From the beginning, whenever the characters in the movie were singing, all the Romanian audience (about 98% of the audience was of the female kind) was singing, too. Everybody knows all Abba songs in Romania, and everybody is a shinning talent! 15 minutes into the movie my brother threatened me that if we don’t leave he will sing folkloric songs all night (besides the fact that I do not like Romanian folkloric songs, my brother has the most horrible singing voice!). 5 minutes later he got up and went to join his wife and son in the theater where Kung Fu Panda was playing. I stayed, and by the end of the movie I was singing too, and I was even tempted to join the group that was dancing around the movie theater (my niece, who is 11, already did, and she was having the time of her life!).
What can I tell you? This is what this movie does to you. The story is set on the fictional Greek island Kalokairi, and while all of villa Donna (the courtyard, the rooms, and the goat house) was filmed inside a soundstage at Pinewood Studios in London, the exterior shots outside the resort were done partially on beaches in Greece. And the sun, and the music, and the summer feeling is contagious.
Donna, the main character, is played by Meryl Streep. Both Michelle Pfeiffer, and Olivia Newton John were considered for this part, but Meryl Streep is the only one who could’ve done such a perfect portrayal of Donna! Donna is an independent, single mother, who owns a small hotel on a quiet, beautiful Greek island. Her daughter, Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried, who won this part over Mandy Moore, Amanda Bynes, Rachel McAdams, and Emmy Rossum) is getting married, and she has secretly invited to her wedding the 3 men who were involved with her mother 20 years earlier. From these 3 men she hopes to find her father, so he could walk her down the aisle.
The 3 possible fathers are Sam (played by Pierce Brosnan), Harry (played by Colin Firth), and Bill (played by Stellan Skarsgard). Pierce Brosnan had no idea what movie he signed on for. The producers told him it was being filmed in Greece and Meryl Streep was starring and he immediately said yes. He declared that he would have signed on for anything involving Meryl, the gorgeous blond he “fancied” in drama school.
We never find out who the father is, and the wedding never takes place anyway. Actually a wedding does take place, but it is not Sophie’s.
Based on the hit Abba single of the same name, Mama Mia the play, first opened in London in 1999, and since then has played all over the world. The play’s original producer and writer were broke when they first tried to put the show together, and were even snubbed by the Swedish pop group, whose music the show is based on. As sweet revenge, in December 2008 Mama Mia became the highest grossing film of all time in the U.K. (smashing the previous record held by Titanic), and they are now two of the wealthiest women in England.
The film, now available on DVD and blu- ray, runs for about 1 hr. 48 min. and expect an euphoric (”I am the next American Idol”, or “I’m going to Greece on vacation”, or “life is beautiful and I am in love” kind of thing) feeling to take over you by the time the credentials roll.
