What do you think?

She's too old to be Sophie. Streep is 100 years old.

Andy.

That's correct. So who do you think she's playing?

Wait, I'll tell you. Donna.

Yet, she is singing "I Have A Dream" in the trailor.

Andy.

I'm really looking forward to this ! I saw Mamma Mia for the first time, a week ago, and really enjoyed it:D But they should have done it with the orignal cast, because I dont think those in the movie sings that well.

It'd be extremely hard to get everyone in the original cast- not only will there be the argument over OLC vs OBC, but it was over five years ago now... lots of people will be too old.

Just returned from seeing Mamma Mia! I laughed and cried for nearly 2 hours. The audience responded well to the high-energy ABBA songs. As I exited the theater, some girls were in a circle singing Dancing Queen. I may go to a karaoke bar tonight and sing it myself. Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan were great. I understand now why Streep is called a great actress. She has told Benny and Bjorn that she wants a part in Kristina if and when it becomes a movie.

Mamma Mia! http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=49

this movie...

Here are pictures of Meryl Streep with ABBA members at the Mamma Mia! premiere.

http://icethesite.com/default.aspx?categoryID=21

The ABBA Museum opens June 4, 2009, in Stockholm.

http://icethesite.com/default.aspx

My impressions

Definitely a chick-flick. I generally liked the film but I thought it was a bit uneven. Good in some places and disappointing in others. Meryl Streep was an excellent choice as Donna and I liked her singing. While some thought her performance of "The Winner Takes It All" as laughable, I thought it was her best performance of the film. I was unsure at first about Amanda Seyfried but likewise she turned out to be an excellent choice as Sophie and I also liked her singing. Pierce Brosnan seemed miscast. Sam is not a very interesting character and they seemed to play him down even more in the film. And his singing was...eh. I laughed during "SOS" as it sounded as if the chorus was cranked up to cover up his singing. Thankfully they knocked out "Knowing Me Knowing You". I doubt Brosnan could have handled that. But too bad in a way because it is a good song. Colin Firth was a bore and did little for Harry as was Stellan Skarsgård for Bill. In all, the "dads" didn't seem to fit in. Julie Walters as Rosie fit her character but was underused. She has more comedic touches in the stage show. I really liked Christine Baranski as Tanya who not only played her character well but also looked the part. She had the older woman look but strangely still sexy.

I was generally disappointed in the music arrangements. They could have really expanded the songs with a fuller sound but instead did no more than the OLC. Too bad they took out "Thank You for the Music" because it works well in the show and I think Amanda would have done well with it. The song is a very effective element in the show as Sophie seeks which "dad" gave her her voice but is thwarted as all three can carry a tune. A subdued version is played over the closing credits but the song is wasted there. "Our Last Summer" curiously occurs earlier and is sung by the "dads" but seems to work in the film. And leaving out the dream sequence of "Under Attack" was also disappointing because it leads nicely into Donna's and Sophie's argument. Removing "The Name of the Game" took a lot of the emotion out of Sophie's confrontation of Bill. Seyfried was robbed of some good scenes and songs and she could have handled them. The disco scene with the dads alternately taking Sophie aside didn't seem to flow as well as in the stage show. The pauses seemed awkward. The "encore" was fun but they only use "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo" and I caught a glimpse of Björn Ulvaeus as I suppose a Greek God. Didn't recognize anyone else as being from ABBA. (And what the hell is wrong with Agnetha Fältskog anyway?) The added song "When All Is Said and Done" could have been tossed in favor of one of the cut songs, plus we would be spared Brosnan's singing.

In all the movie was ok, but I think it needed those removed songs and scenes and some scenes needed to be reworked. Thankfully, I found the songs entertaining and enhanced the story. It's really a bad sign in a musical if the songs come across as annoying interruptions. The movie was alright but it could have been better.