Here I Go Again…and Again…and Again…

Just how many times can one human being see Mamma Mia, anyway? With Universal Pictures releasing a Sing Along version this Friday (Aug 29) the issue might just be moot.

This week, Kath & Laura discuss the eternal appeal of Swedish band ABBA and their most successful spin-off, the stage and film musical sensation, Mamma Mia.

LAURA:
When a friend and I decided to go to the cinema this past  weekend, we had a lot to choose from, some good comedies and a few new dramas. As I was reading the list and said Mamma Mia, my friend squealed, "Yes! Let’s see that!" For a split second, I thought no, I’d already seen it, and I never see movies in the theatre twice.

KATH:
So really,  how many times can one person see Mamma Mia? I don’t think that’s even a meaningful question. Can a person get sick of ABBA? Or Colin Firth? No. So how many times can you see Mamma Mia? That’s an infinite number.

LAURA:
So far I’m only at two, but I’m on my way to infinity! The only thing better than Colin Firth is Colin Firth singing, or perhaps Colin Firth dancing shirtless in a fountain…this movie has it all! 

KATH:
Personally, I saw the stage show twice first-run in Toronto (I even left my exclusively breastfed 3 month old alone with her grandfather to see this show) and then I went to the film version on opening night. So that’s three, but I’m dying to see it again. In the meantime, I listen to the movie hits on my iPod pretty much nonstop (in the original ABBA version – I’m not enough of a glutton for punishment to download the movie soundtrack).

LAURA:
I have to admit, ABBA was a bit before my time. I discovered them in University, and wore out my ABBA Gold CD. I generally don’t have regrets in my life, but now that I’ve seen the film, I do have one huge regret. Back in 2004 I earned a trip to Toronto through Tupperware (yes, I was a Tupperware Lady!) the trip included a night out at a great restaurant and tickets to the Mamma Mia stage show. With my 12 month old, breastfed daughter in tow, I decided not to go to the show. And now 4 years later I am wishing I had left her with somebody’s grandfather so I could have seen it!

KATH:
My kids call me “Mamma Mia” instead of Mommy and they know all the words to many, many ABBA songs. I break into song on the phone with friends when we’re talking about the movie, or even just at apropos moments in non-Mamma Mia related conversations. Nothing like amateurs belting out “Does Your Mother Know” in stereo, a capella, on the cell phone. It gets me every time.

LAURA:
Okay, confession time. I loved ABBA in University, and actually broke up with my high-school boyfriend of three years  with an ABBA song. Yes, I actually did that. We sat in my driveway in his old rusty Ford Mustang and I told him I had something I needed to tell him, but that ABBA says it best, and I popped the cassette into the  player….

Knowing me, knowing you – aha
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you – aha
We just have to face it, this time we’re through
Breaking up is never easy, I know
But I have to go
Knowing me, knowing you
It’s the best I can do

Have I got you singing? Or laughing at me as an 18 year old?

KATH:
So now Universal is releasing a Sing Along version of the movie, and I for one am thrilled. It’s kind of like a tutorial for all those lame moviegoers (there was a teenaged couple on a date beside me in the theatre who actually got up and left about 20 minutes in. Can you believe it?) on how to behave during a Mamma Mia production. You’re meant to sing along to all the songs and get up and dance to the really upbeat numbers. It’s an interactive experience. And don’t worry if you don’t know the words: it’s like  karaoke…the lyrics are flashed up as subtitles on the bottom of the screen, each word lighting up in blue at the exact, singable moment! Who knows, you may finally figure out just what they were saying in the second verse of “Voulez-Vous” after all these years. So kudos to Universal for giving that helping hand (and one more reason to go see this movie again!)

LAURA:
At our screening of the movie on Sunday night, my friend and I just decided to forget about everyone else in the theatre. We laughed, we clapped, we sang (okay, we mostly just mouthed the words) and at one point I had to physically restrain my friend…I thought she was going to dance in the aisles. So if I can possibly swing it, (and my  sister is getting married this weekend, so it may take some creative maneuvering) I am going to be smack dab in the middle of the theatre dancing and singing my heart out this weekend!

KATH:
Of course, if  you can’t make the Sing Along show in the theatres, you can do what Laura and I plan to do…create your own Sing Along Mamma Mia show on the DVD release date…a few friends…a few bottles of wine…a big-screen TV…

Here we go again!