Perfect Summer movie for those over 35 years of age. I loved it and bought the sound track CD on the way home from the movie. I will get this movie in Blu Ray DVD as soon as it is released. The movie is a musical based on ABBA music sung by the actors in the movie. It stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. The movie takes place on a Greek Isle and was filmed there. The story centers on Streep's daughter who is getting married on the island in a few days. Her mother is an American who owns a run down hotel on the island. Her mother conceived her daughter on the island in her hippie days twenty years before. She was involved with three men that summer and doesn't know for certain which of the three is her daughter's father. Her daughter reads her mother's diary and invites all three men to her wedding unknown to Streep -her mother.
I did my yard work early this morning so we could go to the 1:20 showing at Medford's Tinseltown. Some may call the movie a "Chick Flick". If so, it is a "Chick Flick" for old chicks. The theater was almost full and I saw very few young people and not a lot of men. Except for me, it looked like the men that were there were dragged by their wives. The movie is almost non-stop music with one musical production number after another. I am familiar with ABBA music and the movie improved on the music although not every one of the actors is a good singer. Pierce Brosnan is a terrible singer but when he sings it is endearing. The musical numbers are full of life, humor, fun , energy and with beautiful scenery in the background. The high spots are "Dancing Queen", "Momma Mia" and if you have an older child "Slipping Through My Fingers" will bring tears to your eyes. I went to the movie with high expectations and the movie exceeded those. My wife, who rarely wants to see a movie again at the theater, said spontaneously that she would like to see it again at a theater before it goes to DVD. Our 20 something Son was less enthusiastic abut the movie. Meryl Streep is perfect as the aging Hippie mother. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are very good as her girlfriends who come to the island for her daughter's wedding. The three possible fathers are Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skasgard. Amanda Seyfried is cute as the daughter. My only criticism was the print they had at Tinseltown had a scratch that was annoying and at some points was grainy. This is unacceptable for a movie that has only been released for a little over a week.
A perfect summer movie. I love the musical "South Pacific...... well ths is "South Pacific" on steroids! A great memory for the Summer of 08!
(Click on the title for a link to a youtube video of the musical number "Dancing Queen" from the movie)
