Movie Review: Ma ma Mia
By ahgong
@ahgong (10064)
Singapore
February 9, 2009 11:40pm CST
I just managed to get a copy of the DVD to watch over the weekend.
It was, well, a mixture of feelings when I watched the movie.
Well, the musical movie based on the songs mainly from the famous group ABBA.
It was fun to watch.
The show started with a girl sending out letters to three people, inviting them to her wedding. Cos her mother had intimate relationships with all three of the men she invited around the time she was conceived. So her main purpose of the invites is to find out who her father is.
What ensues is a series of funny situations, with awkward moments peppered in-between, making it all very funny to watch as the mother and daughter pair face their fears and challenges of deciding the identity of the father.
The music and dance sequences are fun to watch. And the comical sense of the three ladies who were formerly of the "Dynamos" were fun to watch too.
The three men who were suppose to be the fathers had their share of comical scenes too. I especially like the parts where they were sharing their past with the "daughter".
Overall, the movie is very enjoyable. This partcular musical movie is very different from the likes of Grease, or High School Musical or Mary Poppins. It has more of a... well... Bollywood flavor to it. Something which I totally did not expect.
The movie was set in Greece. And the background scenes were beautiful. Very scenic sea views and beautiful sunsets.
If you can, this is one movie which you will entirely enjoy on a weekend. The musics and songs brings back a lot of wonderful memories of days where ABBA was on the radio and the story is very light and heart warming.
A strong recommendation from me to get this show if you like musicals!
4 people like this
12 responses
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
10 Feb 09
I like Ma ma MIa.. lol =D I love all the songs in it as all of them has got very catchy tunes to it.. hehe ^_^ However i did not watch the movie at all because i find it very different from the actual musical itself.. PLis, i just cant force myself to see pierce bosnan dancing in the movie?? lol =D It's just too hilarious for me.. haha
I will prefer to watch the musical because the real live experience is different.. THough ABBA did perfrom in esplanade about 3-4 years back, but i din get a chance to watch them live, just because i was in the army!! Such a wasted opportunity..
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Feb 09
Wah... you are so young only?
Well, do enjoy your youth my friend!
Well, the movie is fun to watch. Pierce Brosnan did not do much dancing in this show. But he is terrible at the singing scenes.
The star is pretty and quite sexy looking too. And with a good voice, she carries most of the songs really well. Though the lyrics are somewhat changed to suit the movie, it still brings back a lot of memories.
A movie worth watching if you like ABBA music.
1 person likes this
@stevelvis (394)
• Philippines
10 Feb 09
I like this movie coz they relive the legacy of ABBA songs. When I heard their rendition in the movie, it was so fun that I started liking ABBA songs. The actors are a natural, you can feel that they are truly enjoying their roles. It's better to watch this when you have a great sound setup in your room.
1 person likes this
@writermom8 (913)
• Philippines
10 Feb 09
Well, James Bond can't do it all, I guess :p But Pierce should still get an A for effort don't you think? ;-)
I love Colin Firth's voice though ...
1 person likes this
@wheel416 (1019)
• Canada
10 Feb 09
You got that right James Bond.... was never ment to appear in a musical. But, with that said I think he showed great courage and character strength, by getting up there and singing in a musical even though he was not the most comfortable. I give him an A++ just for the effort alone. I know I wouldn't do it if I were him...
1 person likes this
@writermom8 (913)
• Philippines
10 Feb 09
I agree. This is a very nice movie not only because they were able to incorporate a lot of the ABBA songs in the storyline but also because they chose well who will play the characters.
My favorite parts here are the mom-daughter bonding time when Meryl was singing "Slipping Through my Fingers" and the boat scenes where the "dads" were singing "Our Last Summer".
The special effects were also great because you won't even notice the transitions between the shots done in Greece and those done inside the studio.
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
10 Feb 09
i agree that this is a great movie. it's one of the best movies i've ever caught. the singing by meryl streep is really good. though i felt painful when pierce brosnan started to sing.
the most loved scene of the movie would have to be the part when meryl streep was singing 'the winner takes it all'. tears flowed down my cheeks as i can almost feel the pain. this is a movie that shouldn't be missed. 
the most loved scene of the movie would have to be the part when meryl streep was singing 'the winner takes it all'. tears flowed down my cheeks as i can almost feel the pain. this is a movie that shouldn't be missed. @ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
11 Feb 09
Really? The song was edited to suit the movie. I don't remember the lyrics goes the way it was sung in the movie.
My favorite part was still the one where the three guys were singing about the last summer. It was very interesting to watch.
The one where the three ladies were re-doing the "Dynamos" performance was also good.
1 person likes this
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
11 Feb 09
no the song was not edited at all. the movie is based on the musical if i'm not wrong. the musical was written based on the songs from abba. every song in the movie is original except being sang by the actors. watching the movie makes me regret not catching the musical when it came to singapore. if they do come again i'll make sure i catch it. 
1 person likes this
@zweeb82 (5653)
• Malaysia
11 Feb 09
For starters, I'm not an ABBA fan although the songs were all too familiar, hahaI watched it together with my wife but we found it to be disappointingly horrible, no offense. We agree that the people acting were not cut out for such a genre. Julia Andrews is still the epitome for musicals. I wouldn't discredit them altogether though as Mr. James Bond did try to sing & Mrs.Devil although not wearing Prada tried to put on the dancing shoes & also were avoiding to make any mistakes while playing her vocal chords
I watched it together with my wife but we found it to be disappointingly horrible, no offense. We agree that the people acting were not cut out for such a genre. Julia Andrews is still the epitome for musicals. I wouldn't discredit them altogether though as Mr. James Bond did try to sing & Mrs.Devil although not wearing Prada tried to put on the dancing shoes & also were avoiding to make any mistakes while playing her vocal chords1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
11 Feb 09
ha ha ha ha ha... you are one of the few who say this movie is horrible.
It was a fun show to watch. The singing is not top grade. But the simple storyline does come alive really well with all the ABBA music.
But each to his own eh?
So, tell me, which musical you have seen so far that you like?
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
11 Feb 09
i wish it wasnt a musical because i hate musicals but i really want to see this.. lol
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
11 Feb 09
Well, go ahead. It is a great movie for those lazy weekends.
Just rent the DVD. In the event you really do not like it, switch it off then!
For all you know, this may be the movie that will get you hooked onto musicals.
The other good one is Hair Spray. That is one pretty good movie to watch too!
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
10 Feb 09
i haven't actually have time to watch this movie yet... but i had seen the review and i know that this is a good movie... i will make sure that i watch it some times soon... thanks for the movie review though... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@naka75 (795)
• Singapore
10 Feb 09
Yes this movie is one of beauty, hope, sunshine and bright smiling women! The songs are very uplifting too. I think mothers are great people, as they are often witty and do wonders in bringing up their children, which is why we don't see a movie "Pa Pa Mia" tell the stories of fathers, though it's not that fathers don't have their roles! But I believe it's the innate wisdom in the mothers because they are the ones giving birth to children. The movie is indeed a classic that will stand the test of time, but I don't like it when people only know how to sing "Dancing Queen" (with a hint of trying to solicit love and relationship) and do not truly appreciate the true meaning of "Ma Ma Mia", which is doing great injustice to it. They should be watching those restricted movies that could fulfill their desires instead.
@di1159 (1580)
• United States
10 Feb 09
I think everyone likes this one because it is a fun movie. Nothing too complicated or deep, just an easy story line and some great music. Although I prefer to see musicals in person and get the full feeling of Broadway, I have to agree with you that I loved watching it on the small screen. In my case the screen was even smaller as I saw it on a portable DVD player while on a trip.
1 person likes this
@LadyWinter (195)
• United States
10 Feb 09
My husband took me to see it when it came out and I LOVED IT...and shockingly so did he! I found myself singing along in the theater!
It was on my Christmas list and I got the DVD and the CD. I give Pierce credit for trying...and he sounds like a real man...like if my husband tried to sing...not like a prepubescent teenager.
I definately loved this movie!
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
11 Feb 09
I too wanted to watch it on the big screen. But due to the tight schedule, by the time I could make it with my wife, the show ended its run.
It was only recently that I got a little time on my hands to go get the DVD to watch. Yeah, it was a fun movie to watch. And with so many songs from our youth, we were invariably singing along to the songs that were sung during the movie as well.
@bwaybaby (903)
• United States
10 Feb 09
It's a cute movie. I was working at a movie theater when it was released, and we had an employee showing for just four of us. We ended up dancing in the theater. It was quite funny.
I wouldn't say it was a masterpiece or anything, but it was fun, and that's all that it was trying to be.
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
10 Feb 09
Yeah... totally agree with you. It ain't a masterpiec. But is one that is throughly enjoyable if you like ABBA music and musicals.
Wah~~~ you are so lucky to have an exclusive screening of the movie.
That must have been really fun to be able to watch the movie in a cinema, under the full glory of a 200 inch screen and still be able to dance to the music as well! Lucky you!
