The World Is A Scary Place
The rest of the world is very different from America--insane love of soccer, insane hatred of Israel--but I've honestly tried to comprehend a recent phenomenon and come up empty. I'm referring, of course, to the worldwide popularity of Mamma Mia!, the movie. It's grossed $144 million domestic (too much) but a mindboggling $458 million everywhere else.
This is more than Forrest Gump made overseas. More than The Lion King. More than Transformers. More than any Terminator film. More than any Matrix film. More than any Chronicles Of Narnia film. About as much as The Dark Knight. Mamma Mia! is the highest-grossing movie musical ever.
As you probably know, it's a jukebox musical built around the songs of Abba. I finally saw it. (I'd avoided the theatrical experience, so it was new to me.) The story--a young woman invites three men who might be her real father to her wedding--is beneath notice. As for the music? Well, I don't hate Abba. If I hear an occasional song of theirs on the radio I'm not necessarily going to change the station. But the movie versions of these tunes, as sung by Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth and others, are lame even by Abba standards.
Yet people around the world, especially Europe, lined up around the block to see this, over and over. We can have diplomatic relations with these people, but I don't know if we can ever understand them.
This is more than Forrest Gump made overseas. More than The Lion King. More than Transformers. More than any Terminator film. More than any Matrix film. More than any Chronicles Of Narnia film. About as much as The Dark Knight. Mamma Mia! is the highest-grossing movie musical ever.
As you probably know, it's a jukebox musical built around the songs of Abba. I finally saw it. (I'd avoided the theatrical experience, so it was new to me.) The story--a young woman invites three men who might be her real father to her wedding--is beneath notice. As for the music? Well, I don't hate Abba. If I hear an occasional song of theirs on the radio I'm not necessarily going to change the station. But the movie versions of these tunes, as sung by Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth and others, are lame even by Abba standards.
Yet people around the world, especially Europe, lined up around the block to see this, over and over. We can have diplomatic relations with these people, but I don't know if we can ever understand them.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:19 AM
7 Comments:
Well Mull of Kintyre was the all-time #1 single in britain for years too and we've all heard of the Jerry Lewis appreciation among the snail eaters.
Not a hateful movie even though Pierce Brosnan massacres the only ABBA song I really like. The performers look like they are having fun. MY wife ddin't like it as much as she expected and I liked it more than I thought I would. Of course loads of Europeans telling each other how good it is tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy
I can understand why Mull Of Kintyre was big--that meant a lot to people there. (Same for "Candle In The Wind 1997," which is now the best-selling single in the UK.)
But ABBA? Mamma Mia! is big everywhere. How did it get to be the biggest hit in British cinema history?
Which is your favorite ABBA song? Mine is probably "Take A Chance."
I have wondered if in some European countries they dubbed the singing of the songs (and replaced Brosnan and Streeps fairly weak performances). With terrific singing performances, I think the musical would be fairly good.
I have to say, I like Colin Firth's "Our Last Summer" better than ABBA's rendition - marred only by the Brosnan passage.
Which is your favorite ABBA song? Mine is probably "Take A Chance."
Here Comes Treble's version is better than ABBA's. (Begins at 4:01).
"SOS"-
when you're gone
how can i
even try
to go on.
Overwrought emotional navel gazing that struck the heart of geeky teen
Also they left out "Fernando" though it would have been tough to fit in song about heroic South American revolutionaries
Not having the full "Fernando" shows the filmmakers had some mercy.
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