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Hello, I hope you are having a great day! This time I wanted to write a post about Mamma Mia! The Movie, a film from 2008, based on a musical from 1999 with the same name, and with the strong influence of ABBA music. I guess that you already know who ABBA is, yet if the situation is the opposite, let me give a short explanation: ABBA is a Swedish pop group composed by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. They gave Sweden the first win on Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, and are one of the most successful groups of all time, achieving great recognition. I am very familiar with ABBA music, and in fact, I grew up listening to them since my parents are big fans of the group. Their CD is one of the favourites in our house. Truly, I like the majority of their songs, they are masterworks, and that is undeniable.
Furthermore, it was not a surprise years ago, when I read the news that a movie was going to be made featuring a lot of ABBA famous songs. At the time I was sure that I was going to love because I adored watching musicals, and I did. Nevertheless, months ago I was watching TV, and a channel was broadcasting the movie. Well, I have been enjoying less and less musical films in recent years, so I thought that I would not like the movie as much as the first time that I saw it. That was not the case, I presume that that is the power of ABBA music.
With this said, Mamma Mia! was directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, consisting of an international co-production between Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The cast includes stars like Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Colin Firth, between others.
(CONTAINS SPOILERS)
The plot takes place on Kalokairi Island, in Greece, and tells the story of Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried), a 20-year-old passionate, joyful and a dreamy woman, and her family. Sophie is going to marry Sky Rymand, and she wishes to meet her father and have him at her wedding, one of the biggest days of her life. In order to fulfil her dream, she has to find him, however, her mother, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) was involved in her young years with three men. As a result, Sophie has three potential fathers: Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) - an Irish architect - Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård) - a Swedish writer and adventurer - and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) - an English banker. Provided that, you would think that Sophie would insist with her mother in order to know who her father is, or look for more information, but she surprises the audience with the revelation that she secretly invited all of the three men to her wedding. Of course, there will be no drama, right? Sophie believes that she will be able to tell who her father his in the second that she sees him, and besides that, she didn't tell anyone - besides her friends - about her plans, including her mother and her fiancé Sky. Why? Because she thinks that somehow, in the end, everything will fall into place.
Donna is a determinate, hardworking, caring and fierce woman. Her character is very interesting: she has an adventurous personality and was part of the band Donna and the Dynamos, along with her two best friends - Rosie Mulligan (Julie Walters), a famous English chef, and writer of numerous highly recognised cooking books, and Tanya Chesham-Leigh (Christine Baranski), a three-time divorced woman. These best friends met each other when they attended Oxford University. Sophie's mother owns and manages a Hotel, named Villa Donna, however, her business is not going very well. When Donna, who is already worried because of her precarious finances, finds out that her past lovers are on the Island, perplexed, she asks them to leave. Donna is aware of how much pain Sam, Bill and Harry caused her, yet she fears that she can fell into the temptation once again. At one point, she even confesses to her best friends, Rosie and Tanya, that she doesn't even know who of the three men is Sophie's real father.
Later, at Sophie's bachelorette party, the bride decides that it's time to have a conversation with Sam, Harry and Bill. However, is Bill who she asks to give her away on her wedding, requesting to keep it a secret between them. She was really pleased, but, what she didn't expect is that following this event, both Harry and Sam pulled her aside lightly, since they also wanted to give her away on her wedding day. With this she panicked, in fact, she literally faints.
Keep in mind that, while these developments take place, Donna's love life is also a roller coaster, because as her daughter wedding emerges, she realises that she is still in love with Sam, although he abandoned her when they were young.
On the day of the wedding, Sophie began to have doubts. She doesn't want to repeat Donna's mistakes. Consequently, she receives all the support from her mother, and the two share memories - with Donna reminiscing Sophie's childhood and realising how quickly she has grown up - providing the viewer with a meaningful moment. Sophie ends up asking her mother to lead her to the altar. Then, walking down the aisle, Donna reveals to everyone that Sophie's father can be any of the three men with who she had been in the past. Minutes before the big marriage, Donna had finally revealed to Sam the agony she went through over losing him, and promptly he shocked everyone with the revelation that, although he left Donna in the past because he was engaged with a different woman, he was not capable to go through with that compromise, returning too late to find Donna with another man. Moreover, he explains that he never stopped loving Donna in the past twenty years, asking her to marry him. Meanwhile, Sophie, who, as I previously said, was questioning her life choices, wondering if she was making the right decisions, states to Sky that they should postpone their wedding and travel the World, enjoying their lives - he agrees. As a result, Donna and Sam end up marrying in the place of Sophie and Sky. Regarding Sophie's paternity subject: Bill, Harry and Sam decide that they don't want a paternity test, all agreeing to be a father to Sophie, a decision that she happily accepts.
Mamma Mia! is filled with wonderful performances of legendary songs. Take a few examples, some of my favourites:
Honey Honey Scene
Mamma Mia (Here I Go Again) Scene
Dancing Queen Scene
SOS Scene
Waterloo Scene
In conclusion, Mamma Mia! is a good choice for a movie, if you are in the mood to watch a musical and sing along with the songs. In my opinion, although the story is not that distinctive, the film is very entertaining, the songs fit perfectly, and the actors did an outstanding work. And so what that half of the problems could be solved with a simple paternity test, avoiding a lot of speculation? In this case, it's better to forget that details, lay on the couch, enjoy the movie and sing our hearts out... or not. The choice is ours!
Lastly, here is the trailer of Mamma Mia!:
Nb: I do not own any of these images and video and I am not trying to infringe copyright here.
I hope you are having a splendid day!
I hope you are having a splendid day!
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