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Added: July 10, 2008, 2:15 pm	Share    Print    Email

Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, and Julie Walters as "Donna and The Dynamos".

It's the blockbuster stage musical seen by more than 30 million people in 170 cities and eight different languages about a bride, her mom, and three possible dads and filled with songs by iconic supergroup ABBA that you know and love. This week, it finally hits the big screen.

Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan star in "Mamma Mia! The Movie," the musical celebration of mothers and daughters and fathers, true loves lost and new ones found, and the romantic possibilities of what can happen on one magical Greek island when love is in the air and music and dancing abound. (Sounds like the Hamptons in August!). Joining Streep and Brosnan for the music, romance, and comedy are Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Stellan Skarsgard, and Christine Baranski. The three women who created the worldwide smash stage hit - producer Judy Craymer, screenwriter Catherine Johnson, and director Phyllida Lloyd - reprise their roles in bringing this joyful, musical story to the big screen.

Amanda Seyfried as Sophie finds a few secrets in her mothers diary.

"I was recently watching the wonderful Broadway company of 'Mamma Mia!' once again bring a delirious audience to a standing ovation at the Winter Garden Theatre, and I recalled a comment in the New York Post review of the New York premiere in 2001 that everyone associated with 'Mamma Mia!' has made into their comic mantra: 'Let the joy wash over you,'" said Craymer. "Ten years ago, when I was scrambling with author Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd in the final stages of creating a new stage musical based on the songs of ABBA, it would never have occurred to me that 'Mamma Mia!' would be a major worldwide summer movie release blessed with a cast led by Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. I now know what it feels like to go through the full joy, rinse, and dry cycles!"

Much has been said and written about the worldwide success of "Mamma Mia!" (and not just by the show's publicists!) since the show opened almost a decade ago in London. It is 1999 on the enchanting Greek island of Kalokairi. The romantic adventure begins at the remote Mediterranean hotel Villa Donna, run by Donna (Meryl Streep), daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), and Sophie's fiancé Sky (Dominic Cooper). Just in time for her upcoming marriage, Sophie nervously posts three wedding invitations ("I Have a Dream") to three different men, any of whom she believes may be her father. From three cities across the globe, three men set off to return to the island - and the woman - that had enchanted each of them 20 years earlier.

Back on that island, Donna is rousing her staff for the frenetic day ahead as Sophie's bridesmaids arrive and she shares with her best mates a scandalous secret: Sophie has found her mother's diary and learned she has three possible dads - businessman Sam Carmichael (Brosnan), adventurer Bill Anderson (Skarsgård), and banker Harry Bright (Firth). Without telling her mom, she has invited all three to her wedding ("Honey, Honey"), believing that after she spends time with them, she will at last know who her real father is.

Meanwhile, back on the Greek mainland, Sam, Bill, and Harry - strangers until today - have met at the harbor. Fortuitously, Sam and Harry have missed the ferry to Kalokairi, and Bill offers them a lift on his yacht to reconnect with the woman who broke all their hearts 20 years ago.

Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth star as the potential fathers.

Back on Kalokairi, Donna is ecstatic to reunite with old friends and former "Donna and The Dynamos" bandmates, wisecracker Rosie (Walters) and wealthy multiple divorcée Tanya (Baranski), and reveals her mystification at her daughter's desire for a traditional wedding - or any wedding at all. At the Villa, Sophie introduces Tanya and Rosie to true love Sky, and tells them about their idea of designing a website to attract tourists to the island. Donna explains her precarious finances ("Money, Money, Money") to her girlfriends as she takes them on a tour of the Villa. Hounded by her creditors, Donna dreams of a "rich man's world," sunbathing on a yacht and being deliciously pampered. She is brought back to reality as an ominous crack appears in the courtyard.

The three men arrive, and Sophie smuggles them to their quarters and sheepishly explains that she, not her mother, sent the invitations. She begs the men to hide so Donna will have a fantastic surprise at the wedding: seeing the old friends of whom she "so often" favorably speaks. They overhear Donna working in the storeroom below - preparing to fix the crack - and the men swear to Sophie they will not reveal her secret. Sophie leaves by the window - just in the nick of time, as Donna peeps through the trapdoor.

She is dumbfounded to find herself face-to-face with the three former lovers she could never forget ("Mamma Mia"), while the men clumsily make up excuses for their presence. Donna is adamant; they simply cannot stay. Visibly shaken, she confides in Tanya and Rosie ("Chiquitita") a secret she has kept from everyone: she is uncertain which of the three men is actually Sophie's father. No matter, as Tanya and Rosie rally her spirits by getting Donna to join in - with the female staff and islanders accompanying - a musical number intended to make her forget her woes. Donna and The Dynamos reclaim their glory days and champion the women of the island in a call to liberation ("Dancing Queen").

Sophie finds the men aboard Bill's yacht, and they take a trip around the gorgeous island ("Our Last Summer") and tell her stories of Donna as a carefree girl. Upon their return, Sophie musters up the courage to speak with Sky about her ploy, but loses her nerve. Sky and Sophie sing passionately to each other ("Lay All Your Love on Me"), but are interrupted by the bachelor party that has descended upon Sky to kidnap him for his last night of freedom.

At Sophie's bachelorette party, Donna, Tanya, and Rosie perform in a surprise one-night-only event as Donna and The Dynamos ("Super Trouper"). Sophie is delighted to see her mom rock out, but becomes nervous when the festivities are interrupted by the arrival of Sam, Bill, and Harry. She decides to get each of her three prospective dads alone to talk.

The young bride uses the confusion of her amorous girlfriends' dancing with the men ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! [A Man After Midnight]") to speak with Sam about his love for Donna. Next, she's on to Harry about his desire, if any, for children. Finally, Bill reveals that the old woman who gave Donna the money to invest in her villa was his Great Aunt Sofia, and Sophie guesses she must be her namesake. That's it - Bill must be her father! Sophie asks him to give her away and to keep their secret from Donna until the wedding.

Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, and Julie Walters break into song.

Over the moon, Sophie returns to the party. But her happiness is short-lived as Sam and Harry each tell her they must be her dad and will give her away ("Voulez-Vous"). A shocked Sophie can't tell them the truth and, overwhelmed by the consequences of her actions, faints on the dance floor.

In the morning, Rosie and Tanya reassure a frantic Donna they will take care of the men. Donna confronts Sophie in the courtyard, mistakenly believing Sophie wants the wedding stopped. Sophie angrily says that all she wants is to avoid her mother's mistakes and storms off. An upset Donna is accosted by Sam, full of fatherly concern at Sophie getting married so young. Donna dresses him down, and both realize they still have feelings for each other ("SOS").

Meanwhile, on Bill's boat, Bill and Harry are about to confide in each other, but are interrupted by Rosie - who is startled to find Bill making breakfast in the buff! Similarly, pulses are racing down on the sandy beaches as Tanya and young Pepper continue their May-December flirtations from the previous night ("Does Your Mother Know"). With her plans falling apart and her wedding in jeopardy, Sophie knows it is time to come clean to Sky and ask for his help. He reacts angrily to his fiancée's deception and Sophie must turn to her mother for support.

As Donna helps her daughter dress for their wedding, the rift is quickly healed and Donna reminisces about Sophie's childhood and how quickly she's grown ("Slipping Through My Fingers"). Then and there, Sophie decides the only parent she's ever known is the only one who should give her away. As the staff and bridesmaids accompany Donna and Sophie to the chapel, Sam lies in nervous wait. Donna waves the wedding party on, and he begs Donna to talk. She cuts him short, however, revealing the deep pain she felt over losing him ("The Winner Takes It All").

There is more, of course, but the folks here at Hamptons.com don't want to be spoilers.

With an accomplished behind-the-scenes production team, the filmmakers looked to find a cast just as amazing. Craymer had always said songs were the stars of the show, but after she looked around the table at the read-through, she admitted, "I had to eat my words!"

Time for the big walk down the aisle.

"Mamma Mia!" is Streep's first full-on movie musical, though she has done singing work in "Postcards From the Edge" and "A Prairie Home Companion."

Said Craymer of the production's choice for Donna, "We had always leaned towards Meryl Streep playing the lead character. It was beyond joyful that she said yes to the offer immediately. We knew she had seen the show on Broadway a few years ago, as she'd written a rather wonderful letter to the cast, telling them how much she loved the show and how she'd wanted to get up on stage and feel what it was like to be part of 'Mamma Mia!' Like schoolgirls, we kept this letter."

Streep had indeed seen the show in New York and recalled, "It was pure joy." She was drawn to the role for its humanity, its spirit and, of course, the music. "The songs are timeless," said Streep. "They just enter your body. When I came to learn them, I found I knew every single one. They have amazing hooks and great melodies."

Streep also responded to the fact that women had created "Mamma Mia!" and this would be a challenging, physical role that demanded a great deal of stamina. Among other moves, she would have to scale the side of a 40-foot building and sing "Mamma Mia" while balancing precariously on a rooftop. Too, she would sing "Dancing Queen" while performing a series of stunts, which included sliding down banisters to jumping off a jetty and into the sea.

Cast to play the (un)welcome dads were Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård. Said Lloyd, "We've got three men with incredible warmth and humor, and an intrinsic understanding of what 'Mamma Mia!' is and what it requires. Each of these actors has the skill to take us on this incredible journey from a place in their lives where they're all a bit stuck, a bit lost, to their liberation and literally letting their hair down on a magical island."

 • "Mamma Mia" opens in theaters on July 18. See you at the movies!

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Tom Clavin, whose most recent book is “Halsey’s Typhoon,” a World War II story published by the Atlantic Monthly Press, writes regularly about movies and other entertainment topics for Hamptons.com. Comments and suggestions can be sent to Hondo7@optonline.net.