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Momma Mia – The title sez it all! For the record: I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan of movie musicals. As far as I am concerned musicals belong on the stage. I appreciate, I think, the genre, but I can do without ‘Singing in the Rain’, ‘Kismet’, ‘West Side Story’, ‘Oklahoma’, etc. I just can’t get my imagination to accept that people start singing and dancing, in perfect accord, out o’ the blue and nobody has dropped acid or extasy…‘Mom ma Mia’!!! However, I limit my hypocrisy to ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and ‘Paint Your Wagon’. Truth be told, I do have a wild fantasy to see and hear John Wayne sing ‘The Lonely Goat Herd’ (from ‘Sound of Music’) w/a dance choreographed by Bob Fosse. Sometimes the fantasy is best left a fantasy.
The Line Is Etched in Stone.
I remember ABBA’s songs on the radio back in the 70’s and into the 80’s, but I never bought one of their albums. They were/are too ‘bubble gum’ for my tastes along with Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy and the Osmonds earlier in the 70’s. I never bought any of their albums either. ‘Momma Mia’ is an all out estrogen flick, if ever there was one! I will bet that within the next 10 years the Castro Theater, in the heart of San Francisco’s ‘gay’ district, will show this movie (maybe as a double bill with ‘Moulin Rouge’) as a ‘sing-along†™ presentation. They already do this with ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Grease’ and Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’. Not that there is anything wrong or derogatory about men of all ages dressing up as their favorite female character, make up and all, for a night at the theater to sing the movie. I’m all over ‘Live & Let Live’ like white on rice, but it’s just a wee bit TOO much estrogen for me.
On the other hand, it is kind of refreshing that anyone make an out & out musical in this foul year of the Bush Empire where there is no villain, no bad guy or antagonist of any kind! There are no weapons No bloodshed, no decapitations†¦not even as much as a groin injury…period ! And absolutely no CGI. Amazing…total ly escapist fare! All my cards on the table, for the first time in my life, I was so turned on at the sight of Meryl Streep anything that happened on the screen was fine with me. I would not say I am a fan of hers, she is excellent in everything I’ve seen her do, but I don’t mark my calendar and I damn sure don’t camp out to see her’s or anyone’s movies. This time out she plays a reformed globe trotting ‘party girl/s***’ whose 20 year old daughter is getting married. The daughter wants her father to give her away, but after stealing her mother’s journal she discovers there are three different possibilities. So, she invites them all, without mom’s knowledge, figuring she’ll be able to tell who her father is at the sight of him. When they all show up on the same boat she can’t. Then, it’s one ABBA song after another. However it wasn’t an endurance test like ‘Sex In The City’ was to me. (when I begin to daydream of a ‘Bloody Sam’ Peckinpah version the movie I’m watching, it’s in trouble. ‘Sex in the City’ also garnered an additional imaginary Tarrentino, version, a John Woo version and a Monte Hellman in the twisted recesses of my mind.) In good conscious, I could recommend ‘Momma Mia’ to anyone who loves movie musicals and ABBA.