‘Mamma Mia!’ “sharp” and “hilarious” says The Times

In the first review of the musical adaptation “Mamma Mia!” (a claim they make loud and clear in the headline), The Times of London has tossed out a glowing assessment of what frankly looked to be one of the eye-sores of 2008, from this end.

There’s plenty of praise for Meryl Streep, who is likely on the way to a Golden Globe nomination for her work.  Hugo Rifkind has this to say:

Streep is the real star here, and she does serious acting, too, investing a cliff-top rendition of The Winner Takes It All with far more teary gravitas than should be possible for a song that contains the line: “I figured it made sense/ building me a fence”.

I also liked this blurb:

Streep slams wonky, wooden shutters and leads her mob of bridesmaids, ageing sluts and lumpy Greek peasant women on a rampage through that sleepy village like a sun-kissed, middle-aged parody of Cyndi Lauper.

Check out the rest.

There is also this interview with “Mamma Mia!” creator Judy Craymer charting the journey of the musical from stage to screen.  Here’s a look:

Hollywood came calling years ago, but Craymer, [Phyllida] Lloyd and the writer, Catherine Johnson, refused to sell the rights. If Mamma Mia! was going to become a film, they were going to do it when they wanted and on their terms. Hollywood invariably wants Hollywood directors and producers but, miraculously, they managed to keep hold of the film themselves. The feat becomes even more unlikely when you consider that none of them had ever done anything remotely on the scale of a Hollywood movie before. But faced with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, Universal decided they wanted the film enough to take it.

The rest.