Mamma Mia! (2008)

The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular 1970s group ABBA.

Director:

Phyllida Lloyd

Writers:

Catherine Johnson (screenplay), Catherine Johnson (musical book)

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 15 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amanda Seyfried	...	Sophie
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Bill
Pierce Brosnan	...	Sam
Nancy Baldwin	...	Sam's PA
Colin Firth	...	Harry
Heather Emmanuel	...	Harry's Housekeeper
Colin Davis	...	Harry's Driver
Rachel McDowall	...	Lisa
Ashley Lilley	...	Ali
Meryl Streep	...	Donna
Julie Walters	...	Rosie
Christine Baranski	...	Tanya
Ricardo Montez	...	Stavros
Mia Soteriou	...	Arina
Enzo Squillino Jr.	...	Gregoris

Storyline

Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot serves as a background for a wealth of ABBA songs. A young woman about to be married discovers that any one of three men could be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep), who was once the lead singer of Donna and the Dynamos. In the meantime, Donna has invited her back-up singers, Rosie Mulligan (Dame Julie Walters) and Tanya Wilkinson (Christine Baranski).

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Plot Keywords:

bride | jukebox musical | wedding | greek island | buttocks | 

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Taglines:

A mother. A daughter. Three possible fathers. Take a trip down the aisle you'll never forget

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sex-related comments

Did You Know?

Trivia

An undercurrent of this movie is to structure the story as a Greek comedy (like Aristophanes), including patterns of strophe and anti-strophe, a chorus representing the common people, and costumes matched to moods of the characters, including masks and the phallic props typical of Greek comedy.

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Goofs

During "Dancing Queen", Donna hides her face in the pillow while looking at Rosie and Tanya singing. On the right side of the bed where Donna is lying is a red table lamp, a glass cup and some stuff on the table. During the chorus, Donna jumps on the bed, and in the jumping shot, the table lamp and everything else on the table is covered with a white cloth with a red pattern.

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Quotes

Donna: Sky! Come meet my backup girls.
Rosie, Tanya: Backup girls, my arse!

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Crazy Credits

After the final scene of the movie Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters appear on a sound stage in matching 1970s glam-rock costumes and sing "Dancing Queen". When they finish Meryl 'asks' the audience if they want an encore. The three ladies are then joined by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard who are similarly attired. Along with Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, they provide a rendition of "Waterloo" as the main credits roll.

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Alternate Versions

Starting August 29, 2008, it was released in select theaters under "Mamma Mia! The Sing-Along Edition". Like Hairspray, the film was released in theaters with the lyrics at the bottom of the screen for audience participation.

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Connections

Referenced in Show Leose Marese: Episode #1.13 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Take A Chance On Me
Written by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Performed by Julie Walters ,Stellan Skarsgård & Colin Firth
Courtesy of Universal Music

User Reviews

Sad

It is all marketing. I hate marketing. Amanda Siefried, who was a great actress in Big Love, and also was in the fascinating and Boogie Woogie tries to sing in this film that exists only to market itself via the songs of Abba. It is cringeworthy.

Details

Official Sites:

Universal

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English Greek

Release Date:

18 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mamma Mia! The Movie

Filming Locations:

Volos, Greece

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,751,240, 20 July 2008

Gross USA:

$144,169,664

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$609,913,722

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Littlestar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1