Movie Review – Mamma Mia!
Let me start out by mentioning that I had a very serious tooth-ache while attending this musical film. Infact, I am still under the effects of said tooth-ache along with a consistent 800mg dose of ibprofin every 5 hours and a head cold. I am not a happy camper. Did this cause me to have a lean when considering the pro’s and con’s of said movie? Very likely, yes. So when reading this review, first imagine that you can’t breath, your nose is dribbling, your mouth is dry, your brain wooley, your tooth hurts like a bitch and to top it all off, you’ve been on a lot of drugs for the last week. See there? Now you see where I’m coming from and can once more appreciate the brilliance of my review of “Mamma Mia: Sex and the City for 12 year old girls”.
Now, I’m sure this movie seemed like a very lucrative idea at it’s conception. Sex and the City + High School Musical = $$$, right? Rule #1 filmmakers… don’t mix your demographics. Try to please everybody and you’ll end up with everyone hating you. This movie relates to Sex and the City by trying to pull off the same brand of “female perspective”. Men are merely distracting nuisances that you may deign to notice if you’re feeling generous. Like a dog… or children. The funny part however is that the women are portrayed as borderline retarded, all of which couldn’t make a rational decision if their lives depended on it. I suppose if you’re going to be sexist, you might as well go both ways.
As for HIgh School Musical, it’s not only the musical portion of it that I’m thinking of but more the cheesey, picturesque element incorporated into the musical. Because everyone knows that in Greece, all men look like Brad Pitt without spending a second inside a gym and all women have D-cups with perfectly flat stomachs and absolutely refuse to wear bra’s until they’re 40. Most modern film-makers have figured out that lead characters need small physical flaws to make them stand out against the extras; make them memorable. Apparently the memo wasn’t sent out before casting however and now I can’t remember the lead’s face, nor that of the supporting groom. The only faces I do remember are those of the six 40-50 year-old characters.
This movie was terribly produced. I have a mind to look up who did produce it and keep a safe distance so as not to catch his sickly amount of fail. A midnight opening the same night as The Dark Knight?! I have a hard time believing that anyone actually went to see this movie the entire opening weekend with such an obviously superior alternative. It doesn’t even matter if you chose your opening night first. The Dark Knight gets dibs, you change yours accordingly. You just can’t compete with that and trying to is a surefire way to make everyone forget about your movie before they hear about it. Also, where was the advertisement? I saw no tv ads, no theatrical trailers, certainly no viral marketing. The only posters up at all were inside the theaters and completely overshadowed by far larger posters for Tropical Thunder and The Dark Knight. I wouldn’t have known that this movie existed if not for my friend’s unexplainable excitement toward it.
I hated the singing. Normally I don’t mind -or even enjoy- musicals. The problem with Mamma Mia was that nothing at all was accomplished by the songs. They would have normal dialogue propel the plot forward with a line and then simply reiterate that single line over and over again for 10 minutes. Then one more line of dialogue and 10 more minutes repeating that line in the form of a song. I found myself dreading the start of each new song because they all took so long and they all meant absolutely nothing.
The actors were mediocre on all accounts, the writing cliche and cheesey, the setting unrealistic, the premise was pointless, the goal of the plot was undertermined, the characters were vapid and MY TOOTH REALLY HURTS!
To the film’s credit, it had some beautiful cinemotography. Given a similar beach in Greece I probably could’ve accomplished the same with a disposible kodak, but hey, whose judging?
Writing- 4
Performance – 7
Technical – 3 (I just can’t get over that terrible producing)
Overall – 4 out of 10
renee said,
July 28, 2008 at 2:06 am
I couldn’t agree more with this review. I was embarrassed for all the actors involved. I couldn’t stand to watch it for more than the first 40 minutes and left. I might have been able to suffer through it rolling my eyes if it weren’t for the singing. The characters were shallow and vapid. Attempts at humor went flat. Streep complains of being poor yet owns a rustic villa on the ocean that most people would die for. The women were boring and acted stupid. And why, Pierce Brosnin, why would you want to appear in this?