Weekly Blurb: MAMMA MIA!

Okay, I'll just come right out and say it: This was not a great movie. Hell, I might even go so far to say it isn't even a good movie. But do you know what it is? A fun movie. For this reason, I LOVE it!

So, for those of you who don't know the plot: A young girl (Amanda Seyfried) is getting married and more than anything she wants her father to be at her wedding. After reading through her mother's (Meryl Streep) diary, she concludes that it could be one of three people (Colin Firth, Peirce Brosnan or Stellan Skarsgard). So, she does what any intelligent young girl would do: She invites all three of them with hopes that she will instantly know her father when she sees him...(wait, what?) Thus, mayhem ensues. She's wants to know who her father is, her mother is still in love with one of them, everyone sings ABBA songs and Meryl Streep's best friends (Christine Boranski and Julie Walters) start hitting on men half their age. Fun for the whole family.

So, yes. The plot is quite ridiculous. But if this were a Broadway musical it would seem much more plausible. Oh, wait a minute! It is! I have never seen the musical, but I have heard it's fabulous. Frankly, even though several of the big musical numbers are done ingeniously, I think there is a certain element of it that was really meant for a stage.

Sooo, the actors: Amanda Seyfried is quite amazing in my opinion. You may know her as the daughter from "Big Love" or Karen from "Mean Girls" (the girl who said "If you're from Africa, why are you white???") She is an amazing singer, and she doesn't try to bring serious "Big Love" acting to this movie. She knows that this won't be nominated for any Oscars or anything, so she just does exactly what this film needs: She has fun with it. (Hell, it's full of ABBA songs. Who wouldn't have fun?) Exactly the same thing can be said for Meryl Streep. She didn't try to turn a Broadway musical into a Yale-Drama-worthy "serious film." Also, I would just like to add that she is possibly one of my favorite actresses in the history of the world. AND she has an absolutely killer voice (as you will see from her performances of songs like "The Winner Takes It All" and "Super Trooper.") Now don't get me wrong, the film does have its serious moments, and both of these ladies pull them off fantastically, but they aren't trying to turn a movie-musical into something more than it is, and they aren't begging for Oscars while onscreen (*cough* Changeling *cough*)

Now...Peirce Brosnan on the other hand... God, I hope that man never decides to be in a musical ever again. His singing voice is just.... well, I'm just hoping never to hear it again. Ever. And his acting is... well, he doesn't try to be too serious with it, but I didn't get the feeling he was enjoying what he was doing. And the thing is, since it is a MUSICAL and all, it needs to have energy and fun radiating off of all the performers, so he created somewhat of a dead-space on the screen. Now, Firth and Skarsgard on the other hand were able to actually contribute to the overall feeling of the film and they were in my opinion hilarious (and they aren't horrible singers either.)

Christine Boranski=God. Seriously, if at any time you feel down or depressed with the state of the world, just go to youtube and look for Christine Boranski singing "Does Your Mother Know." It will be the most hilarious experience of your life.

Overall recommendation: It is not a good movie, but I can GUARANTEE you will enjoy watching it. So, for those of you who have seen it, tell me what you think. Those of you who haven't, go ahead and rent it. If it's a complete waste of your time and you absolutely can't stand it, all you will have lost is two hours, a couple dollars and a lifetime of not having ABBA songs stuck in your head.