Features
'Mamma Mia' exuberant, goofy
ABBA songs are, of course, evil in musical form.
Just try getting “Dancing Queen” out of your head once it’s burrowed its way in there. “Waterloo,” too, is especially pesky. But “Mamma Mia” might be the most tenacious tune in the 1970s Swedish pop group’s canon.
The insanely catchy hit inspired a hugely successful Broadway musical a decade ago and now is the basis for a big, summer movie. “Mamma Mia!” is a massive mess, but it’s fun — exuberantly goofy, sloppily crafted fun, especially if you’re not in the mood for thinking too hard.
Phyllida Lloyd, who directed the stage production, makes her filmmaking debut here, and her years of directing opera and theater don’t seem to transfer well to the big screen. Some shots look totally green-screen fake; sometimes shadows obscure the actors and at other times the lighting is so flat and bright, it makes everything look like some low-budget effort airing on PBS. And the excessive use of zooms was probably unnecessary, unless Lloyd was aiming for a kitschy 1970s vibe — a movie version of an ABBA video, perhaps (although the story is set in 1999).
If “Mamma Mia!” works on any level at all, it’s through the sheer radiance of Meryl Streep, clearly having a blast letting loose as its star, the former rocker chick Donna. Watching the woman who is considered the greatest actress of our time writhing around in overalls on top of a barn or belting out numbers in a sparkly, spandex jumpsuit and platform boots can indeed be a hoot.
Streep was a fan of the Broadway show, and her passion and enthusiasm explode on screen. She can indeed sing, a talent that’s been on display in bits and pieces in previous movies, most recently Robert Altman’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Amanda Seyfried (“Mean Girls,” “Big Love”) is also solid as Donna’s daughter, Sophie, who is getting married on a Greek island and invites three of Donna’s former flames to determine which one is Sophie’s father.
And yet the songs are the whole point, the reason crowds have been flocking to this show for years, and the reason the “Mamma Mia!” movie probably will turn out to be an enormous crowd-pleaser. No, most of the actors can’t sing and none of them has anything approaching a Broadway-caliber voice, but they know that, and they know that we know that, and all that knowing gives the film a sort of roughhewn charm.
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Young dog saves toddler’s life in bitter cold
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Sometime shortly thereafter on Sunday morning, Jan. 10, Brody apparently got up on his own and wandered out of the rural Pierce City home. The temperature outdoors was just below zero, and Brody wasn’t wearing much more than the long-sleeved pajama top, sweatpants and socks he had gone to sleep in.
If not for the family’s young German shepherd, Lobo, the consequences may well have been fatal. -
Time, effort will alleviate dog’s separation anxiety
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Whispering Pines stands atop state scene
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Writing, baking dual challenges
The Challenged Pens are my writing group. They’re coming to my house this afternoon, and there’s not so much as a cookie in the place.
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Soil test: A first step to a beautiful yard
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Girl with diabetes to receive some canine help
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Type 1 diabetes, the kind children get, is a frightening diagnosis for any parent, with the threat that an undetected drop in blood sugar could cause a seizure or even a coma during the night when everyone’s sleeping.
It’s a double threat for the family of third-grader Nicole Rieser of Sand Lake, Alaska, because she is also autistic, and can’t sense the changes as they happen even when she’s awake. -
Some ‘healthy’ table scraps OK for dogs
Every companion animal veterinarian is daily bombarded with questions from caring pet owners — most of the queries are thoughtful and insightful. Upon reflection, one that stands out vividly, because it is so frequently asked, goes something like this: “Doctor, is it OK if I feed table scraps to my dog?” This understandably prompts an abundance of variable opinions and comments from animal clinicians. Today, I’ll offer mine.
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Reaching, grasping a matter of perspective
A flailing swimmer reaches the lifesaving buoy. Unable to grasp it, he drowns. A trapeze artist zooms through space to her waiting partner and turns loose of the bar. Unable to grasp his wrists, she falls to her death. Robert Browning says our reach should exceed our grasp. The trapeze artist and the swimmer would doubtless have settled for a tie.
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Bickering sisters cause mother concern
Stop the presses! A little over a month ago, I reported that The Onion, an online and print publication, had run a story on research purporting to find that 98 percent of kids under age 10 are “unrepentant sociopaths who...will do anything to get their own way.” Even though I ultimately revealed that the research was “ersatz,” or fake (The Onion is nothing but satire), and invited readers to “find more laughs” on my Web site, a number of folks didn’t get the joke.
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Dalai Lama, in Florida university visit, urges love for enemies
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Sitting cross-legged in his maroon robe on a big brown chair, the Dalai Lama urged 3,000 listeners at Florida Atlantic University on Wednesday to love their enemies, remove their jealousies and find inner peace to spur world harmony.
The Dalai Lama’s sense of humor, enthusiasm for the little joys of daily life and gentle, hard-to-hear voice made an impression on many listeners, who said they were inspired to follow his advice. - More Features Headlines
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