Mama Mia

A number of my students have seen the movie Mama Mia and have recommended that I see it. About once a month I play Abba music and I found the students did not particularly enjoy it, at least not as much as I enjoyed it. However, the Abba CD came up recently and the appreciation factor increased fourfold, now it is requested. It amazed me that such a change had overtaken them. Today, I went to see Mama Mia (a musical) and found out why our people now enjoy it so much. The songs in the movie are all on my CD's. For the most part, the songs are rendered exactly the way they are on my CD's. Many of the pieces are accompanied by dancing and a few with singing only. Those with dancing add to the rendition in an enjoyable manner, so much so that I will not be able to hear them again without seeing the dancing in my mind. The music is soul stirring and my eyes were wet a few times. If you are a Muriel Streep fan this movie is a must because she adds singing to her many acting accomplishments. Not only that, her dancing in the group numbers is amazing. I had to keep reminding myself of her age and that this is a role totally unfamiliar to her. This is a musical and the continuity of the story is, to my mind, strained. Also, some of the story was obviously left on the cutting room floor. West Side Story, Carousel, South Pacific as musicals have this one beat. However, for shear movie enjoyment Mama Mia beats them all.