DVD Reviews

Mamma Mia! The Movie (Two Disc Special Edition) – DVD Review

By June L. Dec 11, 2008, 11:33 GMT

Join the music, laughter and fun of the irresistibly charming "Mamma Mia! The Movie". Academy Award(R)-winner Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast, including Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgard - as well as up-and-comers Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in this musical celebration of mothers, daughters and fathers, true love\'s lost and new one\'s found. Based on the Broadway smash-hit and filled with ABBA Songs you know and love, it\'s the ...more

Mamma Mia has come to DVD just in time to gladden the hearts of many for the Holidays!  The perfect stocking stuffer, under the tree, or Holiday gift, there isn’t anything more fun than joining in the sing-along.  YES, they have included a Sing Along with words (if you actually need them) so you can join Donna and the girls or Head Banger Harry or Sky or lovely Sofie in the fabulous ABBA tunes.

When the movie was in theaters we heard reports of people dancing in the aisles, and still dancing away when the film was over.  There were big smiles, return visits and declarations of “the best movie I’ve seen in a long time,” from women and men of all ages.

A fun story portrayed by the perfect cast and punctuated with ABBA music, set in gorgeous scenery Mamma Mia! is colorful, lively and pure entertainment.

Twenty year old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is getting married on the tiny Greek island where she lives with her single mother Donna (Meryl Streep) running a small hotel.  Sophie has a dream, she wants her father to give her away at her wedding, but the problem is, she doesn’t know his identity. 

Finding an old diary of Donna’s, Sophie culls the names of not one but three possible candidates and sends them invitations to the wedding without telling her mother.   Donna gets the surprise of her life when all three men turn up for the big day. 

Is it Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) the American architect who loved her and left her to return home and marry his fiancée Sophie’s father?  Or could he be Bill Andersson (Stellan Skarsgard) the adventure seeking Swedish travel writer whose romantic nature helped Donna get over the heartbreak of Sam’s leaving.  Or could Sophie’s Dad be Harry Bright (Colin Firth) onetime pop star Harry Head Banger, but now a fussy middle aged British banker?

Donna’s close girl friends arrive for the wedding, and Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) along with Donna have a fabulous reunion, including an appearance as Donna and the Dynamos at Sophie’s bachelor-ette party.

There is so much to love in this film, the wonderful relationship of friends, Donna, Julie and Tanya, mirrored in the friendship of Sophie, Ali and Lisa.  The grown up lives of the middle aged adults as compared to their youthful dreams, and understanding what they have gained and what they have missed. 

The joy and abandonment of huge musical production numbers that leave you breathless from singing and/or laughing are fabulous.  I particularly love the men in swim flippers doing a chorus line type thing on the dock. 

Emotions expressed in music, the comic timing of these excellent actors and actresses, the hope of reclaiming lost dreams, all of these things combine to make Mamma Mia a treat not to be missed.

Mamma Mia! 2 Disc Special Edition comes loaded with special features.  Disc One is the widescreen presentation of the film, available with film commentary, as well as the above mentioned SING ALONG. 

The second disc has a downloadable digital copy of the film and outtakes from the movie, deleted scenes.  Featurettes abound and are fun to watch, The Making Of Mama Mia, Becoming a Singer, On Location in Greece, and a Look Inside Mamma Mia. 

Behind the Scenes with Amanda is a fun look at production, and Anatomy of a Musical Number: “Lay All Your Love on Me,” shows how much work everyone does to make this look easy. 

Sure there are flaws (Pierce Brosnan’s singing is something else), but these things are not important, especially when all is designed to help the viewer into the mood and the celebration of life this film promotes.