Mamma Mia! Review

On stage, Mamma Mia! was a spectacular success. The silver screen adaptation is way above the original in terms of grandeur but may be a tad less in the success arena. Sophie [Amanda Seyfried], the young bride-to-be, invites three men - one of whom she suspects is her father - to her wedding on the idyllic Greek island of Kalokairi, where she lives with her ex-hippy mum Donna [Meryl Streep]. Naturally Donna takes it up a few notches after discovering this trio of former lovers [Pierce Brosnan, Collin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard] on board her premises.

Donna herself is not sure who Sophie's father is, but it's soon clear that she still holds a torch for Sam [Brosnan], the most-grounded of the three candidates. With such a gorgeous and romantic backdrop such as the pink sunsets and sandy beaches of the island, the old flame is soon rekindled. They break into fun and sometimes awkward song-dance sequences which are so endearing and hilariously funny too.

Meryl Streep always gives a no-holds-barred performance and is especially buoyant in her rendition of 'Dancing Queen'. Beyond the song-and-dance pieces, she also gets to showcase her natural flair for comedy, but it's Julie Walters who gets the lion's share of belly laughs as her doddering pal Rosie. It's Pierce Brosnan who catches you off guard with his vocals! If you worried that the stiffness of Bond had not worn out, he surprises you as he delivers his verses with unreserved gusto!

The movie moves at a dizzying pace. The sugar-sweet ABBA tunes blend into an endless medley strung on a very lucid screenplay. But there's no question of boredom; on the contrary, you are bound to find the enthusiasm of the cast dangerously infectious, leaving you high-spirited and smiling at the end of all the drama.