Toms View of the World

Last night, I went to see the new movie version of “Mamma Mia!” - now, I know it’s not my normal fare of action/sci-fi/thriller type movie - but having seen the stage version earlier this year in Bristol, I wanted to see how well it had translated to film.

You can tell a lot about how the audience found a film by watching as they leave the auditorium - most of the time, people have a fairly neutral expression, of if a film was really good a smile.  Mamma Mia - people were walking out humming and singing “Waterloo” (which is the song they use over the closing credits).  Note to everyone, do not leave the theatre until after Waterloo - the visuals on screen are laugh-out-loud funny.

Generally the film has taken the stage show pretty faithfully, added some spectacular locations, some “jumps” between scenes which weren’t possible on stage, and a ton of energy. This is a cast who are clearly enjoying themselves (although Pierce Brosnan’s singing voice is nothing to write home about).  There’s lots of little touches which came from the stage show - including the “Flipper Dance” making a brief appearance.

I’m not going to go into the plot here - firstly, so I won’t spoil it, but moreso because it’s mostly irrelevant, being simply there to hang a series of Abba hits around.

Despite going on my own - I enjoyed it - I suspect because it was a full screening and the audience were having a lot of fun - unlike most films where anyone who says anything is likely to be “sushed” - in this one half the audience were singing along, and nobody minded!