‘Mamma Mia!’ musical movie not totally off-key

Originally a West End stage musical, “Mamma Mia!” is a fun but ultimately flawed film that uses a story about a girl’s search for her father as a frame for the hits of ABBA. Even though there are plenty of fun moments and smiles to be had as Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) attempts to sort through her plethora of potential papas, it has to compete with a slew of unusually competent summer blockbusters like “The Dark Knight,” and doesn’t quite measure up to great modern musicals as “Chicago” and “Sweeney Todd.”

“Mamma Mia!” assembles a top flight cast, including Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep, among others. Everyone’s performances are fairly good, but there is one fact that the producers obviously ignored.

The fact that not all of these people can sing.

To put it as bluntly as possible, ABBA’s classic music is just plain fun, but hearing Pierce Brosnan trying to grind out their tunes is the aural equivalent of being shot with a spear gun. To be fair though, poor Pierce does give it his very best shot, but let‘s face it, sometimes an actor’s best effort isn‘t enough.

His is the only outright painful performance, but I often found myself wondering how much better this movie would have been if they had just decided to cast a group of complete unknowns.

The second major failure in “Mamma Mia!” lies in the relationships between characters. Often, it seems as if they were trying to stick so many ABBA songs into the film that character development fell by the wayside. The romance between the young girl and her fiancée did not feel particularly engaging, and the same could be said for the chemistry between Streep and Brosnan. There is one touching moment between mother and daughter toward the end of the film, and although it pulls at your heart strings, it came too little too late.

In terms of on-screen chemistry, I have taken to measuring most films against the very palpable on-screen attraction between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” which was so visceral because of the well-publicized real-life romance that was simmering off screen. Although few films measure up, this film is hardly at the top of the list.

Partially, I suppose it can be attributed to the fact that while most musicals use their songs to create character and advance the plot, “Mamma Mia!” relies on the hits of ABBA to get its point across, which means that it can only use lyrics that already exist.

On the plus side, the music is still as enjoyable as ever, and the film occasionally does something clever and original with it—like altering the meaning of the lyrics with what is being visually presented on the screen and turning it into a sort of singing dialogue. All the same, these occasional flashes of brilliance are not quite enough to fix the broken character development, but they can still draw a smile from the viewer.

Another positive is the absolutely beautiful scenery. Filmed in part on the Grecian islands of Skopelos and Skiathos, the cinematography and locations are simply divine.

Even though “Mamma Mia!” will probably be swept away in the tide of summer blockbusters, its charm makes it worth watching if for no other reason than to take a break from a spate of high-action summer blockbusters like “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy,” and “Iron Man.”

You can e-mail Lee Rice at leslierice60@webster.edu.