Story
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper), the man of her dreams. The only thing missing from the perfect wedding that she is planning is her father. The problem is that she doesn’t know who her father is, and neither does her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep).
Shortly before the wedding, Sophie discovers the diary that her mother kept the year she was pregnant. This is how Sophie learns that there are three possible candidates for her father: Harry Bright (Colin Firth), a charming former musician; Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), the man who broke her mother’s heart; and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), a daring and now famous adventurer. Convinced that she will know which one is her father the moment she sees him, Sophie secretly invites them all.
Meanwhile Donna is preoccupied with mant things – arrangements for the wedding, repairs on her ramshackle villa, and the arrival of two old friends, Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters). When she learns of the arrival of the three men, she is horrified that they are all there at the same time. Not knowing that Sophie has invited them, she is also terrified that Sophie will find out. Donna therefore encourages the men to leave while, at the same time, Sophie is begging them to stay.
Chaos abounds when each man independently concludes that he is Sophie’s father. In the process of trying to make it right, many songs are sung, proposals are made, and dreams are realised.
Themes
Single parenthood; searching for a parent
Violence
None of concern
Sexual references
There are some sexual references in this movie. For example:
- ‘I don’t care if you have slept with a hundred men.’
- ‘What shall we do with three men?’
- ‘Are you getting any?’
- Tanya puts a large flower between her legs and pretends it’s a penis.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There is some use of substances in this movie. For example:
- Characters frequently drink wine and other alcoholic beverages – on the beach, in the morning, while making toasts, over dinner, at a bar and so on.
- Different characters smoke tobacco.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie. For example:
- Many of the women, especially Sophie and Tanya, wear low-cut tops or dresses, showing a lot of cleavage and or thigh.
- Many of the women wear skimpy skirts and tops in a dancing scene.
- Bill shows his bare backside, featuring a tattoo on each butt cheek.
- Donna caresses her breasts while singing a song.
- Sophie and Sky kiss passionately. He moves on top of her while she is lying on the sand.
- Tanya lifts up her breasts, shows her underwear and grabs her crotch while singing to a crowd on the beach.
- A guy that Tanya met at a bar wants her to ‘pick up where they left off last night’. So she goes down below his belt and does something off camera that causes him to roll his eyes and groan with pleasure.
- Rosie shakes her breasts and does some dirty dancing on a table.
Product placement
Music and lyrics by ABBA are used in this movie.
Coarse language
There is some coarse language in this movie, including: “My ass”, “Stupid, reckless, little slut,” “Screw ‘em…”, “Fricken yoga…”
Ideas to discuss with your children
Mamma Mia! is a light, sometimes silly, romantic musical comedy featuring gorgeous scenery, a catchy soundtrack and a well-known cast.
The main messages from this movie are that sometimes you must take a chance and risk everything in order to achieve your dreams. If you do, life might turn out better than you could ever have imagined.
You might like to discuss with your children values such as determination, self-reliance, loyalty and courage. You could also talk about the importance of communication and honesty in families.