Yesterday was my partner's birthday, so as a special treat (!), we went to see Mamma Mia (the movie) at the Leicester Square Odeon with a couple of friends. To be honest, having enjoyed the stage version so much, I wasn't expecting much, but I was so wrong. I won't bore you with all the details, but I'd rate this very highly in my list of best movies. It was even camper than the theatre version, and that's saying something. Meryl Streep was tremendous and really belted it out. Pierce Brosnan was, shall we say, a little more disappointing in his vocal abilities, as was Colin Firth. They murdered OUR LAST SUMMER and SOS. It somehow didn't matter though. Highlights were Streep's rendition of SLIPPING THROUGH MY FINGERS and DANCING QUEEN, which is on the Youtube clip below. See if you can spot a little cameo appearance by Benny Andersson in the middle. It got a cheer in the cinema.
This is the only film I have been to where the entire audience sat riveted to their seats right until the very end of the credits. Just as well, there was a further cameo from Bjorn Ulvaeus.
The only downside to the evening was when we came out of the cinema and three of us were ranting about what a brilliant movie it has been. I turned to the fourth member of our little group, who was a bit quieter, and suddenly realised why. When Abba broke up in 1982 he hadn't even been born... I suddenly felt my age!
