Mamma Mia brings to life the music of ABBA through a wedding story set in the Greek Isles. Sophie Sheridan is about to get married and it seems her life is complete, only she doesn't know who her real father is. She finds her mother's diary (Meryl Streep) and through context clues, narrows her dad candidate down to three men. Inviting them all to her wedding, Sophie hopes to unveil the paternity mystery...all through song and dance.

Being an ABBA fan, a musical fan, or liking scenery such as the Greek Isles may be an indication that you would enjoy this movie. However, you would be sadly mistaken if you followed that rationale. This musical piece is a monstrosity from the beginning. Bad lines, poor execution of jokes, and over acting (yes, even though it is a musical) ruin this Greek tragedy. The cast boasts big names such as Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth, but they could not redeem this disaster. Shouldn't the main focus of a musical be...the music? The actors butchered the songs in a way that almost made you uncomfortable. The only actor that can actually sing is the daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried of Mean Girls). What was even more disturbing was the fact that most of the audience felt as if they could sing out loud and that would be kosher.

This movie caters to specific crowds: the middle aged woman, die-hard ABBA fans, or people that like bad movies. There were a series of older lady jokes, followed by some girly cliches, and finished with lame sex innuendos. The only thing that might have saved this mess was if Stellan Skarsgård had turned into Bootstrap Bill and Jack Sparrow swaggered in to save the day. Sigh. Although the background of the Greek Isles is very beautiful, you are better off listening to The Best of ABBA and pounding some ouzo by yourself than seeing this flick.

-Colin D