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Mamma Mia! The Movie: the UK Tickets verdict

Posted by Jack on Tuesday 15th July 2008 at 3:05PM

On Friday 27 June, UK Tickets attended a sneak preview screening of the hotly anticipated Mamma Mia! The Movie, and it’s every bit as energetic and feel-good as the smash hit musical, which has been seen by over 30 million people worldwide.

On the surface, the movie is a faithful adaptation of the stage show, but this is possibly due to the storyline’s natural flow easily papering over any obvious differences. In fact, the movie flows so well, I found myself forgetting where and why omissions ‘Thank You For The Music’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ and ‘One of Us’ were in the show in the first place. A more notable exclusion is ‘Under Attack’, but this is because of its position in the show (the first song of Act 2) and the surreal dream sequence it accompanies.

However, leaving out this sequence is easily forgiven, considering that the movie has a much greater sense of reality than the show, taking full advantage of the breathtaking scenery of the Greek islands that do great justice to the images evoked by the set of Mamma Mia! onstage. Almost as if to make up for any exclusions, the fantastic ballad ‘When All is Said and Done’ is added as a welcome movie-only bonus towards the end.

Of course, a motion picture requires a different style of acting from that demanded by musical theatre, and so Mamma Mia! The Movie has an impressive stellar cast led by Hollywood legend Meryl Streep. Although none of the cast, which also includes Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, are known as singers, the acting is believable and engaging, and the often questionable singing was used for some fantastic comedy moments. In many ways, while the stage show focuses strongly on the music and physical performance, the movie focuses more on the characters, their relationships and their feelings. However, as with the show, Abba’s timeless classics still effectively and cleverly drive the plot and encapsulate the emotions they are being used to convey, at the same time being used to express the idiosyncrasies of the characters singing them.

Mamma Mia! The Movie is a great credit to Catherine Johnson who wrote the show’s book and subsequently the film’s screenplay. The story of Donna and Sophie transfers seamlessly from stage to screen with no alterations to the plot and no omitted characters. However, for fans of the show, there are still going to be a few surprises (look out for Benny and Bjorn!), but if you’ve never been to see Mamma Mia! on stage, seeing the movie will definitely make you want to. You can get your tickets for Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre here.