Mama Mia!

natalie_ca

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Has anyone seen the movie "Mama Mia!"?

I love ABBA music, but I've resisted watching the movie because I thought the casting (Pierce Brosnan & Meryl Streep) was really weird in a musical.

I taped it the other night and watched it this evening. There were a few parts where I felt the need to fast forward a bit, but all in all it wasn't as horrid as I thought it would be.

I still disagree with the casting because man, some of those people really couldn't sing all that well, with the exception of the girl who played Sophie.

But the music itself was retro happiness! I overlooked the bad singing and imagined ABBA singing and I was dancing in my seat.

The other good part of the movie was Pierce Brosnan. He's not much of a singer, but he sure is good eye candy!

Not sure what the critics felt about the movie at the time because I really didn't pay attention, but out of 5 stars I would give it a 2.
 

laureen227

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i enjoyed it, because i am also a fan of the music. but i think [even tho i love Pierce Brosnan] that someone who could actually sing should've been cast in that role - maybe Hugh Jackman? the rest of the cast - i don't have as big a problem w/character roles that aren't great singers, so not as big a deal w/those. everyone else could at least carry a tune fairly well.
 
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natalie_ca

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I think the casting was done based on pure draw power. The girl who played Sophie was a new unknown. A few of the others are recognizable on screen but not really by name. So they needed some well knowns.

But I'm sure they could have found some well knowns that actually had the ability to sing! Granted, Meryl Streep wasn't exactly ear shattering, but she wasn't great either. And if you could get beyond the singing, even the visual of Pierce singing is just wrong!

What did the critics say about the casting and the singing?
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

What did the critics say about the casting and the singing?
pretty much the same thing we did.
review
review2
i think Hugh Jackman is a big enough star - good looking, can sing, can dance... maybe he just was too young for Streep?
 

rosiemac

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I've never watched it because i'm not keen on Abba
I actually turned down a free invite with a friend to the show because she had two tickets for her birthday. She was ok when i explained i didn't like their music, and i said it would be better if someone who would enjoy it went instead.
 

emrldsky

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Nuh uh...might give me away!
The play is much better than the movie, I'll just say that.
I saw both, and the singing from the movie was just bad.

If you ever get a chance to see the live show, it's worth it.
 

nanner

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I liked it - I thought it was fun. I had problems with the casting, but could get past that because I thought the movie itself was enjoyable. The critics were overly mean, I thought. It's like they were lying in wait, just dying to rip it apart.

If you get a chance, if a touring company comes close to you - seeing it live in a theatre is wonderful. The audience gets into it and is up dancing and singing along. I was totally surprised. A friend had an extra ticket to the Broadway show (this was years ago) and I thought, "Eh, what the heck...it's a free ticket." and I ended up having a fabulous time!! And there were no stars in it - it was energetic and really fun music and performances.
 
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natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by laureen227

pretty much the same thing we did.
review
review2
i think Hugh Jackman is a big enough star - good looking, can sing, can dance... maybe he just was too young for Streep?
OMG!


Thanks for those links. They pretty much sum it up for me!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I saw the movie, didn't like it for all the reasons stated above. I DO, however, have tickets to the Broadway Across America play Mamma Mia, part of my season ticket holder package for this upcoming year. Not terribly excited about this particular play, but from this comments in this thread, maybe it won't be too bad!!
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens

I saw the movie, didn't like it for all the reasons stated above. I DO, however, have tickets to the Broadway Across America play Mamma Mia, part of my season ticket holder package for this upcoming year. Not terribly excited about this particular play, but from this comments in this thread, maybe it won't be too bad!!
i would love to see it live - don't really care about who's in it, as long as they can sing, dance, act, etc. but i love the music, so i enjoy the movie, too, just like i enjoy the movie of Chicago, even tho i prefer a live performance.
 

gailc

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I like ABBA so I rented the movie. It was a chick flick type movie there have been worse movies I seen. Pierce Brosnan was an odd choice but thats show business!
 

starryeyedtiger

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I've seen the musical several times when it was preformed here at the Orpheum in Memphis. The musical is AMAZING (The first time I saw it, I got to praticipate in one of the Orpheum workshops they had for students at the time since I did theatre/etc in high school. It was a blast!). I haven't seen the movie yet because the reviews weren't that great.
 

nanner

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Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens

I saw the movie, didn't like it for all the reasons stated above. I DO, however, have tickets to the Broadway Across America play Mamma Mia, part of my season ticket holder package for this upcoming year. Not terribly excited about this particular play, but from this comments in this thread, maybe it won't be too bad!!
I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time...live, it's a totally different show.
 
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