Momma Mia!

It was 2 or 3 weeks ago on a Friday; I’d just gotten home from work and stretched out on the couch for a nap only to get a phone call from Skip wanting to know if I’d like to go see Momma Mia! He was being super nice because, as I found out later, he knew nothing about the film, only that it was currently the only movie on my A list. No longer in need of a nap I quickly fired up the laptop and found a place and time that we liked. Since I’m currently using a bus/trolley pass to get to work I decided to do something different and hurried out the door to catch the bus a block a way for a short ride down the hill to the trolley stop and a fast, fun ride to Mission Valley.

The movie, Momma Mia!, is like a Shakespeare play. And I mean that in a good way. If you’ve only been bored by Shakespeare, then you haven’t seen it done well. I’ve been lucky enough to see it performed by masterful actors who made the language seem everyday natural and were able to convey the meaning until we were rolling in the aisles at the comedy, crying at the tragedy, and wondering at the poignancy and the beauty of it all. And besides, Shakespeare’s plays are more like musicals than plays; the language is so gorgeous and the moments so crazy, or crazy beautiful, they’re more like musical numbers than spoken word in anyone else’s hands.

And Momma Mia! has all the bawdy, slapstick, ridiculous comedy and poignant illustration of the human condition found in Shakespeare’s best. The writers took songs by ABBA and tweaked the lyrics just enough so the characters can tell their story organically through the songs. For their part the actors treat the material as if it were Shakespeare, which it deserves, just instead of iambic pentameter or a Danish accent, they sing.

If you’re a Serious Music Queen with a Well Trained Ear you might catch a few jarring notes; the singing is really good, not flawless, but who cares when they’re having this much fun. Meryl Streep is just fabulous, totally committed to the role, hysterical (“I haven’t slept with hundreds of men”) with a nice, lilting voice she uses well, especially in The Winner Takes It All where she gets the screen to herself backlit by the sun setting over the Mediteranean. Pierce Brosnan, it turns out, has a nice rock voice, kind of like Kris Kristofferson. And it’s terrific to finally see Christine Baranski in a role that allows her to show everything she has; eating up the screen and the song and the moves in Does Your Mother Know on the beach with a chorus of male dancers.

All those georgeous guys dancing on the beach with their shirts off and the Mediteranean sun glistening off their muscles; I just got depressed.

While watching the movie it occurred to me that it’s the quintessential Baby Boomer musical; middle aged people who, after 20 years of just trying to make it through the day, look back at their youth and mistakes and take a chance to reclaim their passion, their sexuality, their dreams, and their loves. It gives us hope once again that anything is possible.

The plot is taken from the 1968 film Buono Sera, Mrs. Campbell starring Gina Lollobrigida as an Italian lady who entertained 3 American GIs in quick succession during WWII. Now, 20 years later they; Phil Silvers, Peter Lawford, and Telly Savalas are coming back for a reunion, bringing their wives: Janet Margolin, Lee Grant, and Shelley Winters. In this case the men each know about the daughter but not about each other and the daughter is clueless. Mrs. Campbell tries to keep everyone from knowing the whole story. And, by the way, she has quite the handsome Italian boyfriend in the movie, but I couldn't find out who the actor was. It’s a very fun comedy worth searching for on Netflix or TCM.

I had dinner with my dear friends Dan and Peter last weekend. We saw the stage production of Momma Mia! together a couple of years ago when it was here in San Diego. We’ve each seen the movie, but we’d all like to see it again. Hopefully, a group of us are going to get together next weekend. I can’t wait.