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Mamma Mia and Pierce

Luanne said:
The King and I - Yul Brenner talked most of his songs

Camelot - Richard Harris coudn't sing much as I recall

Chicago - Richard Gere didn't have the greatest voice ever

I'll wince through Pierce anytime. ;)
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I have seen all of them and they did a much better job than Pierce. If I had a dog he would have been howling along.:D

Tom Hanks and the rest of the producers should have ponied up some money for singing lessons.

This is the main reason I don't like musicals made into movies, they go for a "name" instead of talent. Much rather pony up the money to see the touring company of Mamma Mia than pay for tickets or buy the DVD.
 
THANK YOU, LUANNE!!!!!! I suspected that was how it would end, but I'm glad to finally know!

Actually I liked Pierce Brosnan. But I've had a thing for him ever since Remington Steele days.

The only other movie I walked out of was some movie back in the 1980's. I think it maybe had David Bowie in it.....something about vampires?! I can't remember, it was truly awful and pointless.

Why did we walk out?.....hmmmmm. The women all were getting on my nerves. Like REALLY getting on my nerves. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to watch a Meryl Streep movie again. The bride and groom were just so silly it was making me nuts. I was squirming around in my seat. My husband was in agonies. I talked him in to going because I thought it was set on Santorini which we are going to in April so I figured we could just look at the scenery (ooops, that was Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) and I didn't realize it was a musical! (I thought it had an ABBA soundtrack, but didn't know they were actually going to be singing and dancing to it all the time.) I felt so bad for dragging my husband to it (and was in such agonies myself having to listen to it) that we finished our popcorn and left. My husband commented as we left "Thank goodness! I felt like I should have strapped my b@lls up with duct tape before going in there!" He's a good sport, but that was just too much to ask him to sit through.
 
See, I knew better than to take dh. :hysterical:
 
For all the Pierce fans, you might want to google Pierce's wife. After you do that let us know if you feel like you have a better or worse chance in winning him over.
 
I have a better chance! No disrespect to anyone, but that's disgusting. I doubt she looked like that when they got married.
 
DW rented this for us over the holidays. My goodness it's bad! And we really liked the stage version that we saw in Vegas!

I had gathered from this thread that Brosnan couldn't sing. But Streep wasn't a whole lot better. In fact, the only one in the whole movie who could sing was the blonde who played Sophia. That kid had a great voice. And does anybody else think she's a doppelganger for the one who plays the cheerleader in Heroes? I kept wondering if it was the same actress (it wasn't).

But for the rest of it - bleah. I honestly couldn't recognize half the songs as ABBA songs, until at least halfway through each song. Almost all of them lacked ABBA's energy.

DW & I spent much of the movie talking about how badly they miscast it. We agreed on the right casting -- one that could have made the show a success. Rather than Streep & Brosnan, they should have cast Madonna and Bon Jovi. Now that would have made for a great musical.
 
My husband and I went to see the movie..and we generally don't go to the movies..we thoroughly enjoyed it! It was entertainment..and i thought great to see talented actors go on 'the edge' to play a different part..Pierce definitely does not have a good voice..but he is so goodlooking ..who cares? We did see the play on broadway..which was fantastic...so knew what to expect... the scenery was wonderful in the movie..makes me want to go to Greece! See it lightheartedly and enjoy the music...Dance in the aisle! Abba is great!
 
Blues said:
DW rented this for us over the holidays. My goodness it's bad! And we really liked the stage version that we saw in Vegas!

I had gathered from this thread that Brosnan couldn't sing. But Streep wasn't a whole lot better. In fact, the only one in the whole movie who could sing was the blonde who played Sophia. That kid had a great voice. And does anybody else think she's a doppelganger for the one who plays the cheerleader in Heroes? I kept wondering if it was the same actress (it wasn't).

But for the rest of it - bleah. I honestly couldn't recognize half the songs as ABBA songs, until at least halfway through each song. Almost all of them lacked ABBA's energy.

DW & I spent much of the movie talking about how badly they miscast it. We agreed on the right casting -- one that could have made the show a success. Rather than Streep & Brosnan, they should have cast Madonna and Bon Jovi. Now that would have made for a great musical.
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I agree - Madonna & Jon Bon Jovi would have been great in it!!
 
lucillec said:
See it lightheartedly and enjoy the music...Dance in the aisle! Abba is great!
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That's the point! You can't dance in the aisle to this movie. The tunes all fall flat -- no energy or verve at all! It's really a tough thing to mangle ABBA music that badly. We saw the play, and wanted to dance to it. But the movie was a flop.
 
Blues said:
That's the point! You can't dance in the aisle to this movie. The tunes all fall flat -- no energy or verve at all! It's really a tough thing to mangle ABBA music that badly. We saw the play, and wanted to dance to it. But the movie was a flop.
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OMG I so disagree. We watched the video 2 days ago after seeing the movie three times in the theater, and once again I couldn't stop smiling through the whole thing. I'm smiling now just thinking of it! I want to watch it again and again and again.....:cheer: It's just such a happy feel-good movie.
 
I think it depends on where you are coming from..age..friends..etc...I was still a teen in the early 70's...and still have the same friends..we sing and dance whenever we get together...so i could put myself in the movie..maybe that is the feel good part!! It recalls alot of fond memories...
 
I think you are all trying way too hard to turn Mamma Mia into some sort of cinematic achievement. It's based on the stage play, which was nothing more than a way for the ABBA creators to regenerate their music into a greater for-profit situation: Take the complex story-telling lyrics from a bunch of Top 40 ABBA music, create a storyline around it, and sell it to the fans who remember those songs. The result was this far-fetched and completely unlikely story - filled with music all of us know and sing along to when they're on the radio. On stage, it's loud and filled with in-your-face energy, and a whole lot of fun. I've seen it, and thoroughly enjoyed it - for all that it was, and wasn't.

Take that same skinny storyline and put it on the big screen, and it's bound to fall on its face. Meryl Streep is a fine actress and a good singer, but "acting" the songs on screen is much different than belting them out live on stage in front of a real audience. Surround her with other "name" actors who aren't known for their musical talent, and you HAVE to suspend your disbelief, and crank up your tolerance.

We got Mamma Mia for Christmas, and spent much of last night watching the DVD, then watching it again six different ways as we watched the various bonus features included on the DVD. At the end of the evening I decided Pierce is no musical threat, but he knew that going in. And anyone who expects him to sing well is going to be disappointed. The film was much different than the stage play, but that was the best part of seeing it on film - it was someone's vision of how it could be interpreted. With a different cast, director, or producer, it'd be an entirely different film. Overall, I enjoyed it in its own way just as much as I did the stage play - again, for all it was, and wasn't. I'll add it to the DVD library, and pop it in when I'm in the mood for mindless entertainment full of songs I think I could sing better than the actors on screen can. It's fun. No more or less than that.

Now, don't get me started on the film version of Phantom of the Opera! Why on EARTH would they cast someone who can't even speak English, let alone sing well, to play the Phantom, probably one of the most intense stage characters ever created. Loved the play, and absolutely HATED him in the movie... Jeez. :hysterical:

Dave
 
pjrose said:
OMG I so disagree. We watched the video 2 days ago after seeing the movie three times in the theater, and once again I couldn't stop smiling through the whole thing. I'm smiling now just thinking of it! I want to watch it again and again and again.....:cheer: It's just such a happy feel-good movie.
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Same here! I saw it twice in the theater, and I got the blu-ray dvd for Christmas and have watched it twice since then.
The singing is not great (terrible at times), but I didn't care because it was such a fun and silly movie. I may watch it again tomorrow. :clap:
 
ownsmany said:
I agree - Madonna & Jon Bon Jovi would have been great in it!!
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Right, with Britney Spears as the daughter. :rolleyes:

What's better, an actor/actress who can't sing well, or a singer who can't act?
 
OH! I absolutely loved it!!! I couldn't stop smiling. No - he can NOT sing -but I loved it. I am not saying it's a great movie, but it was a SUPER feel-good movie!
 
Saw it twice as stage. Once alone at the movies, loved it just to be uplifted.

Hubby got it for me for Christmas, probably watching it for NYE.

Hey it is so much fun, I'll watch anytime I need to smile about life as it happens sometimes.:cheer:
 
We just watched the DVD. It was such a silly movie. But it was high energy and fun. I'd watch it again. And yes, Pierce is an AWFUL singer. But I liked looking at him. :D Meryl Streep has a nice voice. I was surprised at how nice it is.

We had seen the play with a Broadway traveling group. I loved that. I didn't know anything about the "mod" outfits and I think most of the audience didn't either so when the performers came out of stage, there was quite a reaction.

What fun!!
 
falmouth3 said:
Meryl Streep has a nice voice. I was surprised at how nice it is.
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To hear how good she really can sound, check out the movie "Postcards From The Edge." She sings a song at the end of the movie that's really, REALLY good.

On top of that, it's a fine movie. Written by Carrie Fisher, about her rocky life as Debbie Reynolds' daughter. Meryl Streep and Shirley McLaine play those parts - very well.

Dave
 
Resurrecting Old Thread

File this under "irony", since I panned this movie so much above.

Had our 6 yo granddaughter over for a week (we get her for a week a year :cheer: ). She's always excited to visit us, but was especially so this year, as it overlapped my DW's performance in her community chorus. So granddaughter got to see Grandma perform. The show was mostly Broadway tunes, and in addition to full choral numbers, they also have small groups do skits. DW was in a skit of 6 people doing (wait for it) numbers from Mama Mia.

Granddaughter was so enthralled with Grandma that we had to rent the movie again and watch it several times so they could perform the numbers together. We even ordered a copy from Amazon to be shipped directly to her house.

So here's the thing, and it reinforces my opinion that those who saw the play hated the movie, but those that didn't see the play loved the movie. It's a matter of expectations. My original expectations were high, based on the play, and is probably a big part of why I hated the movie. My expectations on re-viewing it were quite low. Given my low expectations, I actually kinda enjoyed it the 2nd time around (less so the 3rd, 4th, etc :hysterical: ). Perhaps viewing it with a 6 year old helped :rofl:

Speaking of ROFL, I've got a great home movie of Grandma/granddaughter, all decked out in Grandma's evening gowns and feather boas, performing Dancing Queen. Better than Streep.

-Bob
 
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Blues said:
Speaking of ROFL, I've got a great home movie of Grandma/granddaughter, all decked out in Grandma's evening gowns and feather boas, performing Dancing Queen. Better than Streep.

-Bob
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That is a very precious memory that your granddaughter (and her children) will cherish. I think that is the purpose of life--to love and laugh with one another.
 
JMO - for someone who has seen the Broadway play, the only redeeming part of the movie was the gorgeous scenery. Without that I would not have wasted the time to watch the DVD.

Meryl Streep as the mother, OMG. The role was of Sophie's mother, not her grandmother. I lost it everytime the camera zoomed for a closeup. Yes, she has a decent voice, but you have recognize the only reason she was in the movie, and I do not think it was for her singing talents. I guess Michelle Phieffer was booked.

It was like they were seeing how many recognizable actors can we stuff into this thing. Or maybe they were all drinking buddies of Tom Hanks.
 
Blues said:
. . .
Granddaughter was so enthralled with Grandma that we had to rent the movie again and watch it several times so they could perform the numbers together. We even ordered a copy from Amazon to be shipped directly to her house.

. . . My expectations on re-viewing it were quite low. Given my low expectations, I actually kinda enjoyed it the 2nd time around (less so the 3rd, 4th, etc :hysterical: ). Perhaps viewing it with a 6 year old helped :rofl:

Speaking of ROFL, I've got a great home movie of Grandma/granddaughter, all decked out in Grandma's evening gowns and feather boas, performing Dancing Queen. Better than Streep.

-Bob
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Loved your post, and would love even more to see some pics of the Dancing Queen performance!
 
Blues said:
... it reinforces my opinion that those who saw the [show] hated the movie, but those that didn't see the [show] loved the movie. It's a matter of expectations. My original expectations were high, based on the [show], and is probably a big part of why I hated the movie.
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I concur. I saw the show at New York's Wintergarden Theatre and would have to say that the success of the musical was due in no small part to the sound system. That the music could sound as well it did in such a large venue was a techinical achievement which few movie houses or homes, even those with Dolby 7.1 systems, could possibly hope to match.
 
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