I MAY BE alone in having missed the Mamma Mia! phenomenon. Though I vaguely recall seeing the now-iconic poster in every city I visited over the last few years, and I knew the film came out last year, I guess I didn’t get just how big a deal the show–and the film–were. So when the H (that’s my husband) put it in our Netflix queue, my reaction was a subdued, “Oh yeah, I wanted to see that,” and I moved on to any number of the other myriad things that clutter up my (ever-diminishing) brain space. As it turns out, I was missing out.
We decided to watch it as a family movie for the last night of “vacation,” and oh, what a thrill. Though the film isn’t literally about sisters, it is all about sister-friends. Donna, the mamma of the title, has her best friends (and former girl-group singing partners), Tanya and Rosie, with her for moral support during the wedding of her daughter, Sophie (who also has her BFFs close at hand.) Meryl Streep has never looked more beautiful, or, it seems, had such fun with a part, and Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are beyond hysterical.
While the plot is ostensibly about Sophie’s search for her father’s identity, the appeal of the film is in the delirious joy all these women feel at singing and laughing and soaking up each other’s company (not to mention the glorious Greek sunshine). I couldn’t stop laughing and singing myself, and as a bonus, my kids liked it so much that they were dancing along with every musical number. Mamma Mia! may just find you running off to iTunes to download ABBA’s greatest hits–don’t say I didn’t warn you.
OTHER FILM LINKS ON TSP:
- TSP master list of sister flicks
- TSP holiday sister-flick list
- ‘Persepolis‘
- ‘Nothing Like the Holidays,’ and ‘Doubt’
- ‘Secret Life of Bees,’ I’ve Loved You So Long,’ and ‘Rachel Getting Married’
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love it! And the Abba soundtrack always reminds me of another sister film: Muriel’s Wedding. We have that on the sis-flick list too, right Paige?
Absolutely loved it! My new favorite movie. Coincidentally at the end of 2008 my own oldest daughter announced her engagement. I was frightened and enthralled and though I had expressed some light interest in seeing the movie when it was first released- a close sister friend made it her business to make sure I had the DVD under the Christmas tree.
Since that day-I have probably watched it half a dozen times.
I have laughed, cried, relearned the lyrics to old ABBA tunes I had long forgotten I knew, and on top of that-My three younger daughters like it too. Even my son is interested-though I have to admit we do endure some light grumbling before hand but despite that once it starts he stays tuned until it ends.
Welcome, Miri! Our whole family loves this movie, too, and it’s become an obsession for both of my kids. They want to listen to the soundtrack in the car, and my 3 year old will tell you who’s singing each song. (She especially likes Bill and Sam. Why she’s thrown poor Harry–Colin Firth, who makes my heart go pitterpat–to the curb, I can’t imagine.) And my son does his own choreography to all the dance numbers. So great. Are there other girly flicks that your son will deign to watch? Let us know. I’d love to post about sisflix even a guy can love.
Hi there! Great to see your blog – it’s really inspiring. So here I am admitting my Mamma Mia obsession online! My daughter and I have watched it relentlessly and she too loves to sing and dance with me. So, with winter in Columbia Cty NY not too far away we will no doubt be visiting Greece and singing ABBA in our TV room once again. Sad to admit this, but I’m hoping for a theatrical sing-along version!