Saturday, February 14, 2009

DVD Review: Mamma Mia! The Movie

Mamma Mia!, the play that enamored millions. Mamma Mia! the rock opera based on the songs of a successful Swedish pop band. Mamma Mia!, one of the highest grossing films of 2008 (currently the 48th highest of all time) is available on DVD as both a standard release and two-disc special edition on December 16th, just in time for Christmas shopping.



Mamma Mia! tells the story of a love-struck young girl named Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) looking for her real father. Living in a work-in-progress hotel on a small Greek Island with her mother Donna (2 time Academy Award Winner Meryl Streep), Sophie is planning on marrying her fiancé Sky (Dominic Cooper) and wants to have her father give her away. Being the sneaky intelligent girl that she is, she steals her mother's old diary and discovers three potential fathers, Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Harry Bright (Colin Firth), and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård). Being completely love-struck, she invites all three to come to her wedding.

From the opening boat ride to the ending featuring Pierce Brosnan dancing in a full-length disco outfit, this movie had me dancing and singing along. The soul-searching by Sophie is still quite moving no matter how many times you've seen the movie. It's the same as it was on the silver screen, but that isn't what makes this DVD collection worth it. No, what makes this collection worthwhile are the included extras.

While several of the special features are great, it's a toss-up between which two of them I like the most. One of the two best extras is the “Anatomy of a Musical Number” feature. I really liked this song in the movie and thought that it would be interesting to watch how they made it. Needless to say, it was not only interesting, it was also astonishing. All of the little details, from the way that Sky shot the arrow to the fact that the extras had to hold their breath underwater until their cue made this feature a good watch. This extra allowed me to see my favorite scene in the movie, to see exactly how they made it, and to enjoy it more. Plus, it featured the alwaysattractive Amanda Seyfried crawling towards the camera about ten times. What a plus!

The sing-along feature is my other favorite. Featuring the movie clips for each song, you are can get up and sing along while superimposed song lyrics flash onto the screen. This is a nice feature if you are interested in learning the lyrics, rewatching your favorite songs, or if you're an ABBA fan and want to listen to the songs on your TV. With the option to show the lyrics and pick a specific song, this extra is perfect as a party karaoke device.

If you loved the movie in the theaters, you should get the DVD version for your home. The image quality is nice (though I recommend the Blu-ray version if you have an HDTV and a capable player), the music is amazing, and the story is pretty good too. It makes a great Christmas gift for your daughter, for your son's girlfriend, or for your wife. Plus, it's a great gift to give to any James Bond fan, provided you're sure they won't kill you as a result.

4 comments:

Ben said...

looked horrible. didnt see it.

Barga said...

the movie was good

Ben said...

That is what I am talking about. The movie looked dreadful.

Barga said...

but it was good, I am confused now

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