Oh my gosh! – 3 Stars (Good)
Every once in a while a movie comes along that doesn’t claim to feature great acting, singing, directing, and writing, but instead seeks to be just what it is: just plain fun! The most recent of these rare films is “Mamma Mia!”, released in 2008.
Based on Abba’s hit single of the same name, Mamma Mia! it first opened as a musical at London’s Prince Edward Theater in 1999. The original Broadway production opened in 2001 at New York’s Winter Garden Theater and has run for over 3,100 performances as of April of this year. He has now toured in more than 140 US cities.
Oh my gosh! it was nominated for Best Musical and Best Musical Score at the 2002 Tony Awards. The director of the original Broadway play, Phyllida Lloyd, is also directing the film. The musical book and the script are both by Catherine Johnson.
According varietyproducer Judy Craymer and writer Catherine Johnson “were broke when they first tried to put the show together…and now they’re two of the richest women in England.”
That would be because Mamma Mia! set a new mark for the biggest weekend opening for a musical film: more than $27 million. It also became the highest-grossing film of all time in the UK and would go on to become the highest-grossing musical film in the world, generating over $610 million on a production budget of $52 million.
Combine the movie with stage productions and Mamma Mia! has grossed $2 billion in revenue since opening in 1999. Much of the success has to do with Abba, the Swedish pop/dance group that became one of the most popular entertainment attractions internationally between 1972 and 1982. If not recognize Abba, you would recognize his music.
Oh my gosh! is a treasure trove of Abba music composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, and includes “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper,” Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Take a Chance On Me,” “Thank You for the Music,” “Money, Money, Money”, “Winner Takes All” and “I Have a Dream”.
Oh my gosh! takes place on a Greek island where Donna (Meryl Streep), who has never been married, runs an unsuccessful hotel with her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who is about to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper). Donna invites her two best friends to the wedding: Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski); the three of them formed a trio onstage at the same time.
Sophie, who never knew who her father is (her mother doesn’t either), finds her mother’s diary from 20 years ago and discovers that her mother was intimate with three young men at the time: Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Harry Bright (Colin Firth) and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard), one of whom is her father. Not knowing which one, she invites all three to her wedding and her mother has a fit. She watches the movie to find out how it all works out.
Despite earning Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress (Meryl Streep, who else could it be?), Mamma Mia! it received many hits at the time of the review, one of which was “this must be the only musical in movie history composed almost entirely of people who cannot sing.” Admittedly, the movie didn’t benefit from the cast performing their own musical numbers.
Oh my gosh! It didn’t win any major awards worth talking about, but the excellence of Abba’s music and the fun atmosphere of the performance cannot be denied, which is why I gave it a 3-star (good) rating instead of a rating. 2 stars (average). .
I would rather never hear Pierce Brosnan sing again. You can say what you want about Meryl Streep, but remember this: she has been nominated for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress for 14 Academy Awards and has won 2 Oscars, and has also been nominated for 21 Golden Globes and won 5 times. . , more than any other actor in the history of any of the awards.
Don’t fight, if you want fun entertainment, watch Mamma Mia!
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley