Dan's Papers - July 25, 2008

For Meryl Streep fans that appreciate the woman's remarkable acting talent, one might assume that anything she's in would be a must-see. But, even with all the fine work she's done before - as well as the fine work she's done here in Mamma Mia! - she's not the star that determines if you need to rush this weekend to see it. That honor belongs to the true lead: ABBA.

The Swedish super-group may not be topping the charts these days, but their music's power has stayed strong in the hearts of many who still love the boogie. It was that disco fever that first led the creative team of Judy Cramer (producer), Phyllida Lloyd (director) and Catherine Johnson (writer) to bring this tale to stages around the world, in a lively show that encouraged people to dance in the aisles. It turned out to be a natural progression for a play loaded with such instantly digestible pop hits, and when the globe turned out in droves to see this wild, as well as slightly sexy, show, a movie seemed inevitable. But hold the phone-dancing queens - Hollywood sometimes seems unable to take Broadway material and make it sing on-screen, because for every Grease and Dreamgirls (yea) there's a Rent and Producers (nay). So will this be a winner who takes it all? Only if you love ABBA and disco - that's for sure.

Streep plays Donna Sheridan, the owner of a dingy resort located on a remote Greek island. She was a tawdry thing once, but these days she puts her personal energy into her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), who's getting ready for her impending wedding day. The young bride-to-be never knew her father, but after stumbling across her mother's diary, she finds out that Mama wasn't exactly sure herself, as Donna was dabbling with three different men at the same time during the '70s (a nod to the decade that made and was made for ABBA). So, Sophie contends with the question of paternity as best she can, and invites all three of the formerly young dudes who may be her daddy to share in the nuptials.

Soon enough, the potential pops arrive (played by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard) as do two of Donna's former female music mates (Julie Walters and Christine Baranski) and before long, the mother who had put her life on simmer to raise a child suddenly finds herself facing old demons and remembering inspirations, ending up literally cart-wheeling back for another taste of life.

The story is simple, appropriate here because the soul of this endeavor - the ABBA catalogue - isn't exactly deep-thinking stuff. As vacuous as much pop music is, the challenges of love and personal power chants resonate easily, so to make movie-goers think hard with this film would probably have damaged the whole "wild fun" vibe promised on the theatrical posters. The acting, a given with this cast, is fine, but, again, not what's necessary. What this movie needs to live is lusty and free-hearted singing - and we get it - for the most part. The mighty Meryl once again shines, and here she crafts her tunes with the right energy and - seemingly without much studio enhancement - a strong singing voice. All her female co-stars also do well, especially Baranski, who oozes stage presence. The gents? Well, the male members of ABBA weren't known for their singing, so why should these guys handle things any better, right? Sadly, as likeable and talented as the three maybe-baby daddies in Mamma Mia! are as actors, their warbling chops are neither the former nor the latter.

The fact of the matter is: if you love ABBA you will love this movie. If you like ABBA, you will like this movie. If you hate disco and the song "Dancing Queen" drives you nuts, don't take a chance on this. All in all, it's a winner if not necessarily, ahem, necessary, because for many true ABBA-holics, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert remains the ultimate Frida and Agnetha tribute.