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In
the picture
Mamma Mia! ***
*ing: Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski,
Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard and Amanda Seyfried
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Tagline: It's a musical trip down the Aisle |
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This is one film in which you don't focus on the story, you
focus on the soundtrack. And what a soundtrack it is. Based
on the hit songs by ABBA, Mamma Mia! is destined for approval
by all ABBA fans; undoubtedly they run into millions. It's amazing
how the story threads itself through the songs as if they were
written for each other. And contrary to how songs are written
to suit stories in most musicals, in this case the story was
written to accommodate the songs. They replace dialogue as opposed
to jut in at odd times - with no relevance to the sequence of
events - as they often do in Bollywood. And the Mamma Mia! soundtrack
takes an average, typically picturesque romantic comedy and
turns it into a melodramatic musical.
The film has absolutely no depth and lends another meaning to
fluff altogether but it is unapologetic in its frivolity and
compels you to just kick off your shoes, flick off your thinking
cap, sit back and enjoy the music. It takes you to a sun drenched
Greek island where the water is blue, the sand is white and
the sky is speckled with the fluffiest of clouds. Add to that
a whole lot of colour in terms of costumes and characters, along
with a lot of buffoonery and you'll agree it would be criminal
to even think of looking for logic here. |
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The
strongest peg in Mamma Mia! after the songs is Meryl Streep.
The veteran actress takes 180 degree turn from the stiff and
relentless Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada and comes
back as the dungaree clad tavern owner Donna Sheridan, a woman
who has been reckless in her love affairs, leaving her unsure
of the father of her twenty year old daughter Sophie (she was
dating three men at the same time). But as Sophie prepares to
get married on the exotic Greek island (on which her mother
runs the hotel), she is intrigued beyond control to find out
who her father is and sends an invite to the three men who her
mother had a fling with around that time. All three of them
arrive, leading the film from a romance to a comedy of errors,
all supported by hit ABBA songs.
Back to Streep, this has been touted as the worst performance
of her life; hardy worthy of an Oscar winning actress who has
a degree from the Yale School of Drama. And yet the ease with
which she slips on the dunce cap is her sheer brilliance. Where
else would you find an ace actress who would agree to sing and
dance - not really knowing how to do either professionally?
But despite her 'clumsiness' she is brilliantly dexterous. She
dances around town as if she has wings on her feet. And when
she meets up with the girlfriends of her youth - they were known
as Donna and the Dynamos - she sings 'Souper Trouper' equipped
in sequined bell bottoms that would convince you to take the
trip to the seventies. |
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Hollywood
has been taking a very keen interest in musicals - Chicago,
Enchanted, Sweeney Todd and now Mamma Mia! - most of them
(like Mamma Mia!) being stage to film adaptations and one
can't help thinking it is the comeback of the olden age of
Hollywood as well as a faint influence of the present age
of Bollywood. The sequence in which Donna's friend Tanya (Christine
Baranski who is an award winning stage performer) sings 'Does
your mother know' on the beachside, alongside young topless
men remind you of Salman Khan in any of his films.
However, contrary to Indian films, where playback singers
lend their expertise to creating hit songs, the wonder of
Hollywood musicals lies in the fact that the actors sing their
own songs. Meryl Streep does 'Super Trouper' and 'The Winner
Takes It All' quite impressively. Pierce Brosnan sings his
own songs ('SOS') as does Amanda Seyfried as she opens and
closes the story with 'I Have a Dream'. The fact that many
of these actors like Streep and Seyfried and especially Baranski,
(who sings 'Does Your Mother Know' to ward off the advances
of a far too young beach boy) have theatre experience helps
tremendously.
Mamma Mia! isn't a film meant to be reasoned with. Based on
pop songs, it is meant to be enjoyed just for the moments
worth of song and dance. And it definitely is a must watch
for both ABBA and Meryl Streep fans.
– Aamna Haider Isani
*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME |
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