July 12, 2008

Mamma Mia!

WHEN I was in London about five years ago, Mamma Mia just started its run at the West End. I so wanted to watch it, but our sponsor's PR/feeling reporter insisted on getting us tickets to Lion King instead...grrr. Nagparinig na kaming mga editors sa kanya about our preference, but dead-ma. She was so set on watching Lion King.

I'm not dissing Lion King naman. It was a very good production, creative in the way they set up certain scenes like the stampeding animals, and I liked the songs But a few of us kinda got bored with it (we saw the movie na noh!) and left without finishing it. We felt it would be appreciated by a kiddie audience instead. If I had more time (and the money!) to stay in London, I probably would've gotten around to watching Mamma Mia. After all, I grew up on the songs of Abba, and still think of myself as, ahem, a Dancing Queen.

Well thank you for the movie, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson! I just watched the film adaption and it was such a hoot! It's a story of a young woman (Sophie) trying to find out who her real father is, and unknown to her mother (Donna), secretly invites her mom's three ex-lovers (Sam, Harry, Bill) to her wedding. Sophie doesn't know exactly who among the three men are her fathers; she just wants one of them to walk her down the aisle.

Sure the plot is kinda Pinoy in its predictability and camp, but what made the film work was the music, and the outrageous performances of its superstar actors led by Merryl Streep (who plays Donna), Pierce Brosnan (Donna's ex- Sam), and Colin Firth (another ex- Harry). Who knew Ms. Streep could sing so beautifully?! Christine Baranski, a Tony-award winning actress who has crossed over to the film industry (I remember her in Chicago), just sailed through her performances as Donna's friend Tanya. And how could I not appreciate Julie Walters, one of my favorite British comediennes, who plays writer Rosie? (Okay so it was a stretch to make her sing, but so too for Pierce.)

Of course, some of the acting became medyo OA (hay, Colin Firth), but the film was just pure fun. I just wanted to get up and dance in the cinema while singing the Abba songs. (I settled for singing out of respect for the other people watching.)

The audience also gets the feeling that the entire cast just enjoyed themselves making it. (How could they not when they were filming in fabulous Greece? Sigh...I wanna go there!) But it was pretty obvious that Ms. Streep had the most fun. In one interview she said she did the movie just to annoy her kids. Haha. She can be my mom anytime!

Btw, cuteness alert: check out Dominic Cooper who plays Sky, fiancee to Donna's daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Yummy.

Warning: Watching this film may make you afflicted with the last song syndrome.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

the representative of UNITED ARTISTS in Manila (she's a pretty Filipina w/a swang accent.. no, actually, she's a really nice person)told me as we got out of the movie NAMETS at the CCP Little Theater yesterday afternoon that she really enjoyed watching Mamma Mia. seems like this film is a chick film - (i have yet to hear from a male friend, i mean, a TRULY male friend, that he's considering watching this movie, what with the dancing and the singing and, sorry my dear friend, i don't like ABBA, gads..haha. i always thought they were bad (uy) then and i don't know if i can change my mind about their music now- even if Meryl Streep who I happen to consider one of the best damn living actresses on this planet today sings their songs (really, this movie is a backdrop for ABBA songs? yakitikiko, haha! (gads, i'm now anticipating the predictable reaction from this blogger, yikes, hahaha!)

Stella Arnaldo said...

Yeah, very few guys these days are really man enough to watch a chick flick. Hala sige, sagot pangs!

Btw, aren't you a fan of Barbra Streisand? hahaha!

Anonymous said...

why what's wrong naman with liking barang? i was a very precocious kid and i think i was only 10 or 11 yrs old and i was listening to streisand already then.. for the longest time, she was off my music radar until she came out with her album of music from the movies, the one w/c includes her terrific rendition of EMILY... only she can sing that song and make me want to make me man enough to cry.. haha!

Stella Arnaldo said...

Oh nothing wrong liking Barbra Streisand at all, right gheyfriends?! We loooove her!

Gads pangs, ba't iba ka ng iba ng pangalan, everyone knows naman ikaw pa rin yan. haha

Hala, mag-comment ka na sa ibang post. Me 2 posts allotment ka lang per blog entry ko hahaha.