Finally, I plucked up the courage to see the long-awaited Mama Mia.I say long awaited as I love Abba and loved the musical it is based on.
I wasn't sure why I needed courage. Safe to say that I didn't rush out to see it as soon it came out as it is very much a 'good on paper' film. I realised why when I got to the cinema, I didn't rush straight in but hovered outside the door to check my emails - the ones I'd checked 2 minutes before in the strangely absent cinema queue.
In any case it 5.20 on a Friday night - nothing urgent is going to come in (although I always check until 5.30 before I flick of my shoes and sink into my seat).I was dreading not enjoying it as much as the musical, which I had seen on Broadway a few years earlier. That was quite magical. It was Christmas, my first spent in New York and after a good year, I had treated myself to not just the trip and the theatre but a couple of nights at the Waldorf. After which I slummed it at the Chelsea Star Hotel as per usual.Anyway Christmas, Waldorf, New York, Broadway, Abba all added up to a lot of magic to live up to but along with all the hype of the film with its all star cast was enough for me to need a little courage.
I was right.
It started cringe worthy.The young couple about to get married that the story is based around exploded on to the scene and were so full of saccharine they drained the energy out of me. I sank into my seat thinking what a let down. It started brilliantly on Broadway and carried on that way throughout. I came out of the theatre absolutely glowing as did everyone else on to the cold New York wintry streets.
I decided the only way I was going to enjoy this was not to have any expectations. Things will get better when the adults appear on the screen.Thankfully I was right.
A smile broke out about half an hour in (yes I was checking my watch) as the grown-ups reclaimed this monster of a film and it stayed there until tears of laughter started. Firstly when the 3 old friends did their first number, ‘Dancing Queen’, together and then one of them did their solo to ‘Does Your Mama Know’. I could not stop crying for laughing after that and it was a huge relief.Of course the men were hilarious all the way through. The surprise was that Pierce Brosnan’s singing didn’t sound nearly as bad as reviewers, and the man himself had made out. He was James Bond for Christ sake – no one is going to make him look a complete fool! However, there wasn’t a minute in the film when I didn’t think these are huge cinema names making complete arses out of themselves for the sake of making me laugh.
I didn’t think of them as their characters – hell I cannot remember all of their characters names. Having said that, they were all fantastic – even though they seemed like they were just very drunk and happy at a close family member’s wedding.
I judge films partly on if I’d go and see it again. I would but miss out the first 25 minutes for sure.
8/10
Smile factor: 5/5
