wow, what's with all the negativity here? This is pretty much your perfect "leave your brains behind and just have fun" kind of movie! My only problem with it is that I wish they'd cast people who could actually sing rather than just big names (Pierce Brosnan, I'm looking at you!)

I have nothing against jukebox musicals, but Mamma Mia! only really triumphs because Abba songs are fun to sing. And it looks like the cast of this movie really WAS having fun. But I feel like getting big stars was more important to its makers than the actual singing and dancing. The two younger characters (Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper) can sing, but I can't even generously call the older set a mixed bag. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård... not good singers, and I cringed every time they attempted a dance routine. Throw in some slapstick and naughty grandma sex talk for good measure. And the screwball comedy aspects don't even deliver structure-wise. The bit I really did like was the Greek chorus, making clever use of the setting to integrate a musical trope in a fun way. Wish it had been more consistent, actually. Because even there's a good number here and there, a good performance here and there, a good use of setting here and there, etc., the movie just doesn't complete the pass on any of it. It just feels like a half-assed lark for the cast and crew. I can see the appeal, but it was a bit unpolished for me.

This is meant for those of us at a certain age. ABBA + elements of Bollywood =fun, although Pierce Brosnan gets the prize for bad singing in a musical. ;)