Mamma Mia! 6

Going against all the reviews and the word-in-the-street, we actually liked the book of Mamma Mia! when we saw it on the stage in London. The daughter’s relationship with her mother, as she searched for her father and approached her wedding, with the separation that entailed, was touching, maybe because we were looking ahead to the day our own daughter would reach this stage, and maybe because we couldn’t get three seats together and this separation was a little easier to imagine. So when the movie version camped up the story to the max, and eliminated any possibility of viewer emotion or identification, we were left with the ABBA songs, which I never knew or particularly liked and a film that was all fluff and glitter, devoid of heart and soul. Pierce Brosnan’s singing brought actual laughter from the audience at Willow Creek, and while Meryl Streep confirmed that she can do anything as an actress, the image of her pratfalling onto a mattress will not enhance her legacy. I give the movie points for consistency and pleasant fun, but the bottom line for Mamma Mia!, as it was for Phantom of the Opera, is that theatrical miracles are better left onstage.