MAMMA MIA!

"Here I go again"

Sophie (Seyfried) had a dream. That dream was for her father to give her away at her wedding but the Chiquitita's mother Donna (Streep) was a real dancing queen at the time she was conceived. After finding her mother's diary she sends an SOS to three men, Harry (Firth), Sam (Brosnan) and Bill (Skarsgård) inviting them to her wedding, hoping that one of them will be her father. When they all arrive and meet Sophie, asking her does her mother know they are here, she has to figure out a way of discovering who is the one because the winner takes it all and the losers will take the fall.

The musical is well and truly back at the box office but can the latest adaptation of a hit stage piece of musical theatre but this one has an ace up its sleeve and that is ABBA!

When 'Mamma Mia!' hit the West End in 1999, a new musical sensation was born. Based on a story by playwright Catherine Johnson and incorporating all of ABBA's greatest hits, the musical was an instant success and primed for a big screen outing. With adaptations of 'Chicago', 'Hairspray', 'Rent' and many other Broadway and West End hits coming to the big screen, the story of a girl wanting her father to give her away on her wedding day set to the songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, 'Mamma Mia!' always had an advantage and in this screen adaptation it definitely does.

The story is a simple one. Sophie is getting married at her mother's Greek island hotel and she has a dream of her father giving her away. The problem is that she has never met him and has no idea who he is, as her mother Donna has never said. Finding her mother's diary from the time she would have been conceived, Sophie discovers that her father could be one of three men, architect Sam Carmichael, banker Harry Bright and novelist Bill Anderson. Not knowing whom it could be, she decides to invite them all to her wedding, believing that she will know her father when she sees him. Unfortunately she hasn't told her mother Donna her plan and as she prepares for daughter's wedding with the help of her best friend's Tanya and Rosie, she is totally unaware that the three loves of her life are heading to the island, expecting to pick up where they left off. The story definitely has scope for comedy and it delivers some quality laughs and an awful lot of farce but when you add the ABBA songs into the mix the film becomes a concoction of fun and murder, of the songs that is.

For 'Mamma Mia' the filmmakers have gathered together an all-star ensemble cast but the big question is, can they all sing? Meryl Streep throws herself into the role of Donna Sheridan, singing most of the ABBA power ballads such as 'Money, Money, Money', 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Slipping Through My Fingers' and, of course, 'Mamma Mia!' Amanda Seyfried is also very good with renditions of 'I Have a Dream', 'Honey, Honey', 'The Name of the Game' and 'Thank You For The Music'. Christine Baranski and the brilliant Julie Walters, who steals every scene she graces, give us 'Chiquitita' and 'Does Your Mother Know', with Walters almost bringing you to tears of laughter with her version of 'Take a Chance on Me'. It is when the men start singing when the vicious murders start. Pierce Brosnan cannot sing and who ever told him he can, must have been slightly scared of the former James Bond to tell him this. He butchers 'When All is Said and Done', is only saved from total humiliation by Meryl Streep while dueting on 'SOS' and joins in a mass murder singing 'Our Last Summer' with equally as bad Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård. While some may argue that it was intentional to cast non-singing actors, it has certainly backfired with Brosnan.

This aside, you can't take the fun away from 'Mamma Mia'. It will certainly bring a smile to your face but the movie will definitely resonate more with a female and musical theatre audience, so please don't drag your husband, boyfriend or partner to the film as they will only be trying to score points if they agree to accompany you. As a musical, it is fun and everyone knows the ABBA hits, so you can't help but tap feet or sing along.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 1:85 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. Now you can see and hear the music and thank it for not letting Pierce Brosnan sing as much as the rest of the cast.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (8.06 mins/Standard Definition)
A collection of scenes that show long introductions to the possible fathers, more scenes of Sophie and Sky's romance and extended song scenes. Unfortunately these scenes suffer from the lack of commentary track or introduction to explain why these scenes were removed.

Outtakes (1.33 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch the cast prepare for and perform their songs but everything doesn't go to plan.

Deleted Musical Number: 'The Name of the Game' (3.02 mins/High Definition)
Watch Amanda Seyfried and Stellan Skarsgård before the classic ABBA song but it is not explained why this wasn't included in the film.

The Making of Mamma Mia! (24.19 mins/High Definition)
Director Phyllida Lloyd, producers Gary Goetzman and Judy Grayner, screenwriter Catherine Johnson, lyricist/executive producer Bjorn Ulvaeus, composer/executive producer Benny Andersson and stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper take you behind the scenes of the making of 'Mamma Mia!' Split into sections entitled 'Birthing Mamma Mia!', 'The Filmmaking' and 'The Cast', these featurettes reveal how the show transferred to the silver screen, making the movie and picking a cast that hasn't really sung before.

Anatomy of a Musical Number: 'Lay All Your Love On Me' (5.47 mins/High Definition)
Director Phyllida Lloyd, music director Martin Lowe and stars Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper take you behind the scenes of the beach love song.

Becoming a Singer (10.55 mins/High Definition)
Director Phyllida Lloyd, composer/executive producer Benny Andersson, music director Martin Lowe and stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper talk about the updating the music and singing the songs.

A look inside Mamma Mia! (2.40/High Definition)
Director Phyllida Lloyd, composer/executive producer Benny Andersson, lyricist/executive producer Bjorn Ulvaeus, producers Gary Goetzman and Judy Grayner, screenwriter Catherine Johnson and stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Amanda Seyfried talk about the movie.

'Gimme!, Gimme!, Gimme!' Music Video (3.49 mins/Standard Definition)
Amanda Seyfried sings the classic ABBA song with some help from Dominic Cooper

Bjorn Ulvaeus Cameo (1.35 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch the full version of the ABBA member's cameo in the film

Feature Commentary with director Phyllida Lloyd
The theatre director turned motion picture helmer provides a decent single person commentary. With insights into transporting the musical from the stage to the screen, casting, shooting in Greece and much more, this is an enjoyable track that fans will enjoy.

U-Control
Universal transports the technology they pioneered on HD DVD, which allows you to watch the film with picture-in-picture behind the scenes information and on screen facts about the movie.

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for 'Mamma Mia!' is one that fans will enjoy. With featurettes that cover most of the films production, a good single person commentary from the director and extra musical numbers for fans to sing along to, this is certainly a good value high definition feature.

BLU RAY

Hairspray (2007)

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2008