Mamma Mia Sneak Preview

Mamma Mia: Here I go again.

I got to go to a sneak preview of the movie version of Mamma Mia. Thanks to T0m for inviting me and to Ira and Brett who got the free tickets.

It was at the Regal Cinemas at Gallery Place. There were a lot people in line for the preview. Lucky for us they opened another theater and put us in there. They actually moved the people who were in the theater to one next door to accommodate us. It was a pretty good size theater. I'd say it was maybe a third full which means they'd filled a similar size theater.

So how's they do?

Well, I'll get one part out of the way right away. Pierce Brosnan cannot sing at all. In fact people laughed when he tried to "sing." I can't imagine why he was picked. It reminds me of the guy who played Sam (that's Brosnan's character) in the first touring company. He didn't have a very good voice either. Brosnan was just bad and not in a good way. He did one duet with Meryl Streep, SOS, and song not in the original show, When All Is Said and Done. He was a little better on the second one but not by much.

With that out of the way, the movie was actually really good. I thought they did a great job of transferring the musical to the big screen. The location is Greece and it is just beautiful.

Meryl Streep is great as Donna. She has a harried expression in the opening scenes as if she really is running an inn on a Greek Isle. Her wish to get away from the island in the number Money, Money is just hilarious. The staging for Mamma Mia is very funny and original as she tries to peak in on the three guys without them seeing her.

Julie Walters is hysterical as Rosie and really gets into Take a Chance on Me. Christine Baranski well is Christine Baranski what more can you say. She looks great and sounds great too.

As for the guys well I've talked about Mr. Brosnan (did I mention he can't sing). The other two do well in their rolls. Stellan Skarsgård is Bill Anderson (the last name was Austin in the show) but since Skarsgård has a Scandinavian accent the name change was a good idea. He is good as Mr. Anderson and his scene when he realizes he could be Sophie's dad is very funny. Colin Firth is Harry Bright and he plays the uptight Harry as well uptight. He has a good singing voice. I was surprised as some of his later scenes but I won't ruin the surprise as to what they are.

Skye is played by Dominic Cooper and Sophie is played by Amanda Seyfried. They really work well as a couple and their voices are very good.

I was very very pleased with the results of the movie. It was great fun and everyone I went with had a really good time. And, yes I think I will have to go back and see it again.