Based on the musical of the same name, MAMMA MIA! is the story of a bride-to-be, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) searching out her real father of out of 3 possibilities (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Karsgard) to have him give her away to groom (Dominic Cooper).  She lives with her unwed mother (Meryl Streep) on a Greek island helping her in her club/restaurant.  Mother has 2 other friends attending the wedding too.  3 men, 3 women!  The audience can easily put 3 and 3 together.  All these events unfold amidst the 70’s hit songs of the Swede pop group ABBA.

The film has most of what is expected from the hit musical including the rendering of ABBA’s most popular songs like DANCING QUEEN and of course, MAMMA MIA!  Filmed mainly using bright colours of the sets, costumes and props with gorgeous bodies prancing around in the cheesiest of musical numbers, MAMMA MIA! is however, a mixed bag of island tricks.

The biggest flaw is the casting non professional singing stars in the musical adaptation.  Take Brosnan who cannot sing.  Period!  And it shows with the audience giggling in their seats the instant he starts opening his mouth to the song, ironically entitled S.O.S.  It seems the filmmakers know it and have played a cruel joke on the former James Bond as his is the only song that begins without much chorus backup.  The normally subtle Oscar nominee Julie Walters overacts in the worst way and so do most of the cast, with Streep leading the females.  Streep is the most embarrassing jumping around and making facial expressions as if she was younger than the daughter character, Sophie.

MAMMA MIA! is not a guy’s picture and it shows with the men reduced to bumbling manipulative idiots.  Colin Firth in drag shows the actor at his lowest point trying to invoke some humour.

The premise of a daughter discovering her 3 fathers has been done before in films like the breezy 1969 Melvin Frank comedy BUENA SERA, MRS. CAMPBELL set in an Italian village.  The mother was Gina Lollobrigida and possible fathers were Telly Savalas, Peter Lawford and Phil Silvers.  The makers of MAMMA MIA! should take a lesson or two from this movie.  In MRS. CAMPBELL, the local folk play a part in the story.  In MAMMA MIA!, the Greeks are reduced to less than the local scenery of the islands.  They are always in the background and have no important parts.  Worst still the film contains no more than two lines of dialogue in Greek.  Unlike MRS. CAMPBELL, this film delves into melodrama and sinks at times into sappiness.  MAMMA MIA! is mostly awful, camp but unfunny and totally embarrassing for all parties involved, unless you are a total ABBA fan!  And even if you are – go rent THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT for a much better time.