"Mamma Mia! Here I Go Again!"

You know your boyfriend loves you when he'll sit and watch "Mamma Mia!" with you without complaint, knowing full well you just finished watching it five minutes before with your mother.

Sure there's nothing wrong with musicals, and he's seen plenty of them, but when it comes to a movie starring Meryl Streep, ABBA music and a singing Pierce Brosnan, you expect some reservations. I can't even listen to ABBA when he's around, he just hates pop and disco *that much* and doesn't understand how I can listen to it. I try to explain that there's a time and place for all types of music, and these particular tracks really make you want to get up and move around but he still doesn't understand. From his perspective I can see why, because it really is hard to understand why there'd be a time and place for ten different remixes of "Toxic" or "Genie in a Bottle." I mean, I still listen to them, but for a guy raised on Zepplin and the Dead... yeah.

As with all couples, we have our discussions about what to watch, what to listen to, etc. As much as you compromise from day to day, there are still those things you just don't want to give in to. I know he loves watching surgeries, but I can't stomach that and he knows it. Heck, I do the half-cover-my-eyes thing when we watch "House" (which we always seem to watch during dinner for some reason), so he knows watching intense medical programs on TLC or whatever don't generally go over well with me. Meanwhile, I know better than to put on an overtly feminine program (or, say, the VMAs) when he's within earshot. About 90% of what we do watch, we watch and enjoy together but never in a million years did I think "Mamma Mia!" would be in that category.

If I recall correctly, it was one of the highest grossing films of the year and I can see why. The island it was primirily filmed on (Skopelos) is simply gorgeous, and it made me long for the beaches in Santorini. The songs were well done, and I was surprised at how well Amanda Seyfried sings. I first saw her as Joni on "All My Children" many years ago, and now watch "Big Love" in which she is one of the children of the polygamist family and have always thought she was a good actress but I had no idea what a beautiful voice she has. So far, the movie has inspired many people I know to make a change in their life, just becaues of the uplifting quality it gives you. Silly, I'm sure, to let a movie do that, but is it really? Is it really that strange to have some form of art cause you to rethink part of your life?

Pierce Brosnan wasn't as bad as people made him out to be, either. He was kind of strained, but it wasn't off-key or anything. There were a few points the segueways into the songs could have been handled better (ie, "Dancing Queen") but the numbers themselves were very well done. I won't go into too much detail about the plot, in case anyone reading doesn't know the story and wants to see it, but it was quite enjoyable all around. Watching Meryl Streep made me remember when I used to watch "Death Becomes Her" all the time, and she seemed so much more comfortable in this role. Sure, she did look similar to what her DBH character did before she took the potion to make herself more youthful (so kudos to the DBH make-up people, they did a good job back then!), although she was definitely a lot happier in her skin in this movie! As always, Christine Baranski was a hoot to watch and now I have a strong desire to watch "The Birdcage" (one of my all-time favorites) again. I have a feeling Stellan Skarsgard's character was who my boyfriend enjoyed watching the most, only because of his adventurous nature and the fact that, well, he wants nothing more than to have his own boat and be able to take an adventure anywhere - especially the mediterranean. Although I'm sure we could have both done without the butt-shot with the tattoos (although hilarious!).

The last movie we watched together before this was "Pineapple Express," which surprisingly I think he enjoyed less than "Mamma Mia!" I believe this was mostly due to the fact that he expected MM to be awful and found it very enjoyable, whereas he had high expectations for PE and found it falling short of that. I personally thought it was hilarious, and not a let down at all like "Tropic Thunder" and "Don't Mess With The Zohan" turned out to be (he was in agreement with me on those two titles as well), although after seeing both of those I was, honestly, expecting less of PE after all the hype it had. James Franco did a wonderful job, and it was very interesting seeing him as Saul and then thinking about Harry Osbourne. And of course Seth Rogen was hilarious as always (I know everyone was praising Rosie Perez, but her character was probably the only let down in the whole movie in terms of what I heard vs. what I saw. I didn't realize Gary Cole was in it, either, but did enjoy his role.).

In closing, I'm glad we got the chance to watch these together finally, and I'm extremly glad he enjoyed the music in "Mamma Mia!" Maybe now I can get away with listening to "Voulez-Vouz" while I clean, although I suspect using the A*Teens cover of it would be out of the question.