Mamma Mia 2008
Mamma Mia tries to be bad in many different ways and succeeds. However, by having no shame in how bad it is, some people will really enjoy it. The acting is bad, the songs are bad, the singing is bad (some of it, Meryl Streep actually sings pretty well on some of her big songs; Pierce Brosnan is pretty terrible), the choreography is bad, the characters don’t develop; the directing, writing, even the lip synching are bad. Much of this is like a 2-hour Mentos commercial with people laughing and smiling for no particular reason. It is like being at a party with people completely different from you and wondering how can these people think what they are doing is in any way enjoyable? Like square dancing or Sabado Gigante.
However, like the Abba songs the movie is based on, even though you know it is bad, you can’t help enjoying it at least a little. The plot sticks to the basics of romantic comedy, not even attempting anything as complex as boy gets girl, boy loses girl. There are no villains; there are just a few characters bumbling around trying to fit all of these different Abba songs into a cohesive whole. About halfway through, the plot does at least start coming together and the movie starts to become enjoyable before falling apart again for a big party where everything is resolved. See it if you must. C+.
Written: 24 Aug 2008