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offtothepictures · 6 years

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mamma mia! (2008) - part 1

mamma mia! is a musical starring meryl streep and amanda seyfried (post-mean girls but pre-les mis), in which seyfried’s character sophie discovers she has three potential dads and invites all three of them to her wedding on an idyllic greek island. got all that? and the best and DEFINITELY most important aspect? it’s allllll ABBA songs baby. talk about culture clash (1970s sweden vs 2008 greece? actually we’ll come to the 2008 part later). it’s cheesy and raucous and loud and sweet and an utter riot of joy, and the only musical my best friend actually doesn’t hate. and his excuse for hating musicals is that they’re cheesy so i think someone needs to work on their argument.

hi everyone! so love island has finished, i’ve just got back from holiday to torrential rain – thanks england – and meryl streep owns my ass, so before i go and see mamma mia! here we go again a gazillion more times (and meet the director AGHHHHH yes that’s actually happening) i’m gonna review the first one! bear in mind that i’ve seen this film literally 100 million times please. i can’t actually stress how much i adore this film and it’s my comfort film that i watch when I’m sad or ill or tired or bored in history. i’ll pick holes in the technical aspects of it but just know that i would die for this film. got it? lets go.

visually, it’s a pretty film. nothing toooo wild or groundbreaking (like florals for spring) but it’s saturated and dusty and bright and 100% suits the tone and setting of the film. it also has a softness and realness to it that i feel we don’t get anymore from hollywood in 2018 – if a film isn’t crisp and chockablock with cgi and visual effects, then it’s not making bank, and that includes you, new mamma mia. from a glance at this film, you know it’s set in the mediterranean. also the faded and bright quality of the film evoke some of the 70s imagery, not only of ABBA but of donna’s (meryl streep) past.

the costumes are also gorgeous and so camp and bright and cheesy! mamma mia! knows what film it is and keeps itself campy and cheesy without skimping on quality, and this is especially prevalent in the disco costumes, particularly super trouper and the end credits (which are oscar worthy in themselves lets be honest)

so I know it was originally a west end musical and having source material makes screenwriting easier, but i love the way the songs are worked in. nothing feels forced and once again, the crew didn’t have to compromise on quality by changing most of the words, which is a relief to the avid ABBA fan. and yes, this is a complaint i’ll revisit in my mamma mia! here we go again review.

why does sophie go post her letters on the mainland at midnight? did she sneak out? didn’t donna or sky question this?

also this will come up again a bit later but why do they have to shoot night scenes during the day and then try to colour correct? It’s just PAINFUL. can’t y’all shoot at night? jesus. also this is my theory as to why they cut the name of the game later in the film with bill and sophie – because it looked like shite!!!

this is EVIDENTLY SHOT DURING THE DAY CAN’T Y’ALL EVEN TRY?! THAT IS FUCKING SUNLIGHT BUT I GUESS MAYBE I’M WRONG AND THAT’S NOT HOW LIGHT WORKS

I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE SONG WAS “I’M TALL I’M TALL I’M TINY” BUT I GUESS I’M WRONG also i love that being ‘tough’ is this scottish girl’s quantifier in her friendship group. is that racist? smh mamma mia u ain’t woke

you know what isn’t fucking mentioned once in mamma mia 2? (yes i am already sick of typing out the whole damn name so this is what you get) BILL’S ICONIC EYE TATTOOS. okay butch count olaf i see u sweetie

did they hire christine baranski before or after this line was written? because either way that’s…………. savage

this is 1000000% a whole ass reach but is sophie wearing three little stars on her necklace to represent her dads? Because that’s some adorable shit right there

this is still the coolest scene transition ever imo

okay why have they got sophie doing these anime-ass gasps when she sees her dads for the first time lmao

QUESTION: how did sophie meet her two friends? did they stay on the island? this IS a question i’ll be asking director of mamma mia! here we go again ol parker when i see him in two weeks. also WHERE ARE THEY IN THE SECOND MOVIE FFS

and on that note how does sophie know sky?

sooooo this film is supposedly set in 2000? if sophie is born in 1980 according to the second mamma mia film…… so sky is setting up a website for donna in 2000? i did some research trying to trip the film up for not actually being set in 2000 when it was released but i can’t find anything incriminating. just know….. that i know the truth. you can’t hide from me phyllida lloyd.

Is aunt sophia dead?

the guy who hits on tanya does have a name and it is pepper. i was initially wondering why it wasn’t mentioned in the film but now i guess i know why. also it is shouted at him at some point in the second act but i guess i just thought they were….. hurling abuse?? idk

the level of innuendo in this film that completely went over my head as an 8-year-old is unreal

also shoutout to my friend hannah for not realising harry is gay even though he basically says it. and makes out with a dude. and sings take a chance on me to him which is honestly the most convincing part. love you han x

harry’s greek boyfriend is actually called petros or smth but he looks like a fabio so we’re calling him fabio

okay here’s where we’ll leave part 1!! keep ya peepuhs peeled (not ya noggin. god that’s quite the reference) for part 2!!

#mamma mia!#2008 #Film Review #amanda seyfried #meryl streep #julie walters #christine baranski #dominic cooper #mamma mia here we go again #abba #films #offtothepictures

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