I'm one of the few folks who chose to see Mamma Mia this weekend instead of The Dark Knight. I'm sure that doesn't surprise any of you readers who know me.

In a nutshell, I enjoyed it. But, I walked away convinced it could have been better. Some of my thoughts:

--The scenery is amazing! I wanted to hop on a plane and go to Greece immediately.

--Was it me, or did everyone in the movie look like they shopped at Anthropologie? Even the furnishings for the Inn looked like they were from there.

--Three cheers for Amanda Seyfried who did a great job as Sophie. She's come a long way from Mean Girls. Can't wait to see her back on Big Love.

--Christine Baranksi and Julie Walters are fabulous as Tanya and Rosie. Frankly, they outshine Streep. Baranski looks like a million bucks in this movie.

--Oh, Meryl. God, I love you. You are the paramount actress of my time. But, DAMN! You can't sing! You redeemed yourself with "The Winner Takes it All," but you're just not equipped for a musical.

--Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard both do a nice job as Harry and Bill. Colin's impeccable British humor and timing is just what the doctor ordered in certain parts of the movie.

--Now on to Pierce. Seriously casting people: did he NOT sing for you before you cast him? He is just plain awful--awful to the point that AV and I were laughing hysterically at the mere sound of him. Now, I wasn't complaining when he had his shirt off, but even that couldn't distract me from his wailing. They should have switched Firth and Brosnan's characters. A Meryl-Firth love affair is much more believable than one with Mr. Bond.

--If you are a musical traditionalist, I'm not sure you'll like it. It is over the top--almost to the point of campy. You know how in The Sound of Music or West Side Story they make it seem perfectly normal for people to be singing instead of speaking? Well, in this people come out of the water and start dancing, etc. They almost make fun of the movie-musical at times. But, it totally works. That was one of the most entertaining things about it.

--Still, I'm happy. I love that I'm living in a time when the movie-musical is making a return. Sure, it isn't quite the same as the good old days, but it is a start. What I don't like is the feeling that they need to cast big name stars who can't sing. A few amazing no-names are just fine with me.

Just my two cents. Let me know what you thought!

Posted by: Lawrenkm at 08:41 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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