Mamma Mia Out on DVD Today!

Several years ago, just as my love affair with the Swedish rock group, ABBA, was beginning to bloom, I saw the stage production of Mamma Mia in Los Angeles with my parents. At the end of the show, they did a mini-concert when everyone was encouraged to get up and dance and, because we rarely turn down an invitation to make fools of ourselves, we jumped up and started grooving immediately. I looked around and saw that we were the only ones in the balcony brave enough to shake it, save one gentleman, several rows back who was dancing with his eyes closed in complete ecstasy. He looked like the ABBA tunes had whisked him away to a fantasy wonderland where he was the king of the Dancing Queens and there was no need for an SOS. I believe it was a combination of that vision, the show, and having excellent taste that ensured ABBA would be the soundtrack to which I would live my life from that moment on.

If you don't totally understand what Mamma Mia is, let me back up. The plot of the musical has nothing to do with the band ABBA except that when the characters break into song, they sing ABBA tunes. So when single mother Donna (Meryl Streep) can't believe that her soon-to-be-married daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has invited all three of the men that might be her father to her wedding (Donna was a bit of a loosey goosey in her younger years), she sings the song "Mamma Mia." Or when Donna's friend Tanya (played by the amazing Christine Baranski) is chiding a younger man for hitting on her, she sings, "Does Your Mother Know." Make sense?

This film is not without its flaws. Not everyone in the cast can sing, occasionally it looks like they inexplicably used two completely different types of cameras and it often feels a bit rushed, like the lease on their Greek isle locale was was about to run out. Yet despite all that, I still LOVED it. It works because you get the sense that they know what they're showing you isn't exactly perfect, but it's been filled with so much heart and fun, you'll be willing to look beyond the wrongs and see all those glorious rights. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, who play Donna's two best friends steal almost every scene they're in and Seyfried has just enough wide-eyed cuteness to pull off her role without being too sappy. Meryl Streep proves once again that she can conquer any character she wants and the three male leads are endearing even if they can't all carry a tune. Plus, the Greek beaches and sun will transport you out of these frigid winter days and plant you into a story playfully told through some of the most wonderful music in the world. Don't take it too seriously and you'll love it too.

And if the stage production comes through town again, do yourself a favor and go buy tickets. You will never regret being the only person in your aisle dancing your little heart out.

Mamma Mia, Universal Studios, $29.98