How sick is it that I’ve been actually interested in watching “Mamma Mia!”? Perhaps it’s because of my general love for musicals, perhaps it’s thanks to the lovely Amanda Seyfried, or maybe it’s because I just like the cast. But for a movie that’s based on a musical I’ve never seen inspired by a band I kind of like who sing music that’s only okay, “Mamma Mia!” has been a source of great interest since January. Don’t ask why. Maybe that’s just the continued power of ABBA whose music is cheesy and clunky but still manages sneak in to your brain and rest there until you’re willing to admit that they’re not so bad, after all. It was only a matter of time until “Mamma Mia!” was turned in to a movie, due to its success on Broadway, but the range of musicals of late has not been the most inspiring; particularly the mainstream outputs as we’ve seen the genre from mediocre (“Dreamgirls”) to plain abysmal (“RENT”) with the best of the best being released right under our radar (“Once”). I think there will be a specific audience to which “Mamma Mia!” will appeal to, and sadly I doubt I’m a part of that audience. I approached the adaptation of the musical with sheer optimism and found that “Mamma Mia!” is often too hokey to really involve myself with.
 

Streep could never really convince me she was this character, and sly wit and enthusiasm didn’t particularly win me over to the personality of this ex-hippie. One of these men has to be Sophie’s father, so why don’t I care? While it’s seemingly destined to grab some cash from hardcore fans of the stage version, folks like me will be left out of the cold with a dramatic tension that’s never quite urgent as the premise lets on. And right when we get to the big reveal as to which of the three sperm donors are her father, we’re literally left in the cold with many questions raised that are ignored undermining the entire premise and the reason why we came to watch, which the story tries to conceal by staging a big confession scene in front of an audience that seems ripped from the laziest wedding romances we’ve seen over and over again. Chalk up another mediocre movie musical to the gallery.