Mamma Mia! (film)
Mamma Mia! (promoted as Mamma Mia! The Movie) is a 2008 jukebox musical romantic comedy film directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Catherine Johnson, based on her book from the 1999 musical of the same name. The film is based on the songs of pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson. The film features an ensemble cast, including Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, Meryl Streep, and Julie Walters. The plot follows a young bride-to-be who invites three men to her upcoming wedding, with the possibility that any of them could be her father. The film was an international co-production between Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was co-produced by Playtone and Littlestar Productions.
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
by Catherine Johnson
- Littlestar Productions
- Playtone
- Relativity Media
- June 30, 2008 (Leicester Square)
- July 10, 2008 (United Kingdom)
- July 17, 2008 (Germany)
- July 18, 2008 (United States)
109 minutes
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- United States[1]
English
$52 million[2]
$694.6 million[2]
Principal photography primarily took place on the island of Skopelos, Greece, from August to September 2007. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures. Mamma Mia! held its world premiere on June 30, 2008, at Leicester Square in London and premiered on July 4, 2008, in Stockholm, Sweden, with ABBA members Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog in attendance. The film was released theatrically on July 10 in the United Kingdom, on July 17 in Germany and on July 18 in the United States. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the musical numbers and production values but criticized the casting of inexperienced singers and campy tone.[3] The film was a box office success, grossing $694.6 million worldwide on a $52 million budget, and became the fifth highest-grossing film of 2008.
A sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was released on July 20, 2018, with much of the cast returning.
Plot[edit]
On the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan reveals to her bridesmaids that she has secretly invited three men to her wedding without telling her mother, Donna. They are the men with whom her mother had sex during the 25-day period coinciding with Sophie's conception: Irish-American architect Sam Carmichael, Swedish travel writer Bill Anderson, and British banker Harry Bright. She hopes that her father will give her away and believes that after she spends time with them, she will know which is her father.
That day, the three men arrive on Kalokairi. Sophie does not reveal that she believes that one of them is her father, but does explain that it was she who sent the wedding invitations, not Donna. She hides them in Donna's goat house, and they hesitantly agree not to reveal themselves yet, as it is a surprise.
As Donna is working on the goat house, she spies on them. Dumbfounded to find herself facing her former lovers, she demands that they leave. Donna confides in her old friends Tanya and Rosie that she truly does not know which of the three fathered Sophie.
Sophie finds the men aboard Bill's sailboat, and they sail around Kalokairi, telling stories of Donna's carefree youth. She attempts to tell her fiancé Sky about her ploy, but loses her nerve.
At Sophie's bachelorette party, Donna is distressed by the presence of the three men, but Rosie and Tanya assure her that they will take care of them. Sophie decides to talk with each of the men alone, but leaves Sam and Harry questioning their trip. She learns from Bill that Donna received the money for her villa from his great-aunt Sofia.
As a result, Sophie comes to believe that Bill is her father. So, she asks him to give her away but keep their secret until the wedding. Sophie's happiness is short-lived, as Sam and Harry each pull her aside to tell her that they are her father and that they will give her away.
In the morning, Donna attempts to comfort Sophie and offers to cancel the wedding; Sophie angrily reacts to this, saying she only wants to avoid her mother's mistakes. Sam attempts to discuss the wedding with Donna, and both of them realize they still have feelings for each other.
Sophie admits her actions to Sky and asks for his help, but he reacts angrily to her deception. As she prepares for the wedding, Donna admits to her that her mother disowned her after she got pregnant, and that she could not be more proud of having her. Donna promises to give Sophie away.
As the bridal party and guests walk to the chapel, Sam intercepts Donna, who reveals the pain she felt over losing him. At the wedding, Sam reveals that he had broken off his engagement, but returned to find Donna had gone off with another man (Bill).
The three men agree with Sophie that they do not want the paternity confirmed, each agreeing to be one-third of a father for Sophie. Knowing what both of them want, Sophie suggests to Sky that they postpone their wedding and travel the world. Sam proposes to Donna, revealing that he is now divorced and has loved her all this time, which she happily accepts, and they marry on the spot.
A soundtrack album was released on July 7, 2008, by Decca in the United States and Polydor internationally. The recording was produced by Benny Andersson. The album features sixteen musical numbers from the film, including a hidden track. The album was nominated at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The deluxe edition of the soundtrack album was released on November 25, 2008.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Mamma Mia! grossed $144.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $550.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $694.6 million, against a production budget of $52 million.[2][17] It became the highest grossing live-action musical of all time, until it was surpassed by Bill Condon's Beauty and the Beast in 2017. It was also the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman, until it was surpassed by Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman in 2017.[18] It is the third highest-grossing film of 2008 internationally (i.e. outside North America) with an international total of $458.4 million and the thirteenth highest gross of 2008 in North America (the US and Canada) with $144.1 million.
The film made $9.6 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada, as well as $27.6 million on its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office, behind The Dark Knight.[19] At the time, it made Mamma Mia! the record-holder for the highest grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a Broadway musical, surpassing Hairspray's box office record in 2007 and later surpassed by Into the Woods.[20]
In the United Kingdom, Mamma Mia! grossed £69.2 million as of January 23, 2009; it is the thirteenth highest-grossing film of all time at the UK box office.[21] The film opened at number one in the UK, taking £6.6 million on 496 screens. It managed to hold on to the top spot for two weeks, narrowly keeping Pixar's WALL-E from reaching number one in its second week.
When released on July 3, 2009, in Greece, the film grossed $1.6 million in its opening weekend, reaching number one at the Greek box office.[22]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 55% based on 183 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and a campy tone might not make you feel like 'You Can Dance' the whole 90 minutes."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
BBC Radio 5 Live's film critic Mark Kermode admitted to enjoying the film, despite describing the experience as "the closest you get to see A-List actors doing drunken karaoke".[25] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was more negative, giving it one star, and expressed a "need to vomit".[26] Bob Chipman of Escape to the Movies said it was "so base, so shallow and so hinged on meaningless spectacle, it's amazing it wasn't made for men".[27] The Daily Telegraph stated that it was enjoyable but poorly put together: "Finding the film a total shambles was sort of a shame, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll go to see it again anyway."[28] Angie Errigo of Empire said it was "cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers."[29]
The casting of actors not known for their singing abilities led to some mixed reviews. Variety stated that "some stars, especially the bouncy and rejuvenated Streep, seem better suited for musical comedy than others, including Brosnan and Skarsgård."[30] Brosnan, especially, was savaged by many critics: his singing was compared to "a water buffalo" (New York Magazine),[31] "a donkey braying" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)[32] and "a wounded raccoon" (The Miami Herald),[33] and Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing Charlotte said he "looks physically pained choking out the lyrics, as if he's being subjected to a prostate exam just outside of the camera's eye."[34]
