Mamma Mia!: A Cheat Sheet for Those Who Don't Quite Love ABBA

I was too good for ABBA.

I thought they were a manufactured group that some cynical producer invented to counter the dirty fun of late '70s disco.

When they called it quits, I believed they would package their Greatest Hits and vanish into Classic Radio, a hell I never visit.

Later, when their music was the engine for a hit musical, I thought that was the final throes for the band's cult.

But in nine years, 30 million people have seen Mamma Mia! on stage. The production has grossed $2 billion. It's still running on Broadway and on stages around the world.

And now cometh the movie, and the prospect of millions humming those catchy tunes.

Dislike is no longer an excuse for ignorance of this group and this phenomenon. I want to have something to say when others bang on about the film, so I did some remedial reading. Let what I learned serve as a primer.

Why the name?
ABBA comes from the initials of the first names of the members of the group: Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

Why was ABBA so popular?
Innocence. Catchy pop hooks. And lyrics like these:
You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen

Why did ABBA spawn a musical?
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wanted to write longer, more thematic music. In 1981, they met Tim Rice. Their collaboration resulted in Chess, which opened in 1986. Its success made them willing to consider another, closer to home.

Mamma Mia! -- who's ultimately responsible?
Judy Craymer, who went on to co-produce the film as well.

What was Ms. Craymer's big idea?
"My co-producer, Richard East, and I commissioned Catherine Johnson to write the story. My brief to her was that the lyrics could not change, the story should be a contemporary, ironic, romantic comedy and that if she listened carefully to ABBA's songs, she would notice how they fell into two different generations -- the slightly younger, playful songs like 'Honey, Honey' and 'Dancing Queen', and the more mature, emotional songs such as 'The Winner Takes It All' and 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'. The idea of a cross-generational love-story was devised."

Why was it set in Greece?
It had to be an island. Catherine Johnson had never been there. She used travel brochures for inspiration.

Why isn't "Fernando" featured?
Because that song is about two old soldiers discussing the Mexican Revolution.

What was it like to do a musical produced by a woman, written by a woman and directed by a woman?
Judy Craymer: "We were all happy to jump in and make the tea."

Was the production charmed?
The opening night in London was the 25th anniversary of ABBA winning the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo".

Movie trivia: There's never been a major movie musical made by three women.
Well, why not? Phyllida Lloyd may never have directed a movie, but she directed the musical. Catherine Johnson had written the show. And Judy Craymer was unafraid to stare down all of Hollywood.

Can Meryl Steep really be 59?
Yes. And that violates the sacred rule of American movies: AARP-age men with younger women. Streep is older than her leading men, Pierce Brosnan (55), Stellan Skarsgard (57) and Colin Firth (47).

What other Hollywood taboos are violated in this movie?
How about the plot: the wedding of a daughter who wants her father to walk her down the aisle. But she doesn't know who her father is. Neither, it seems, does her mother -- from an old diary, the young woman learns he could be any of three lovers. So she invites them all.

Unmarried sex with multiple partners -- and that's a PG-13 rating?
That's not all. One of the possible dads turns out to be gay.

Yes, but is it any good?
Roger Friedman doesn't think so. First sentence: "It's hard to imagine a movie as poorly made as Mamma Mia! coming off the Hollywood assembly line with Meryl Streep as its star."

What's the one fact about ABBA and the movie to keep firmly in mind?
Mamma Mia
Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?

[Cross-posted from HeadButler.com]

Comments

[trance]

There are - after all - only 2 types of music. The type you like, and the type you hate.

[gevan]

Damn, I thought "Fernando" was about the Spanish Civil War.

[FOXYLADY]

'LIGHT MUSICAL' SOUNDS JUST RIGHT FOR AN ENTERTAINING HOUR OF SO....IT DOESN'T ALL HAVE TO BE "MIND BOGGLING" STUFF AT THE THEATRE. EVEN IF THE SINGING ISN'T ALWAYS THE GREATEST, IT'S STILL GOOD TO LOOK AT PIERCE AND THE OTHER HOTTIES.....THIS OLD LADY CAN STILL "APPRECIATE".......................

[MagisterLudi]

Frank Zappa "Dancing Fool"

Don't know much about dancin'
Thats why I write this song
One of my legs is shorter than the other is
'nd both my feets too long

The disco folks all dressed up
Like they's fit to kill
I walk on in 'nd see 'em there
Gonna give them all a thrill
When they see me comin'
They all steps aside
They has a fit while I commit
My social suicide

I'm a dancin' fool, I'm a dancin' fool

[meanguy]

now, THAT'S entertainment!

[NoSillyName]

Thank you, MagisterLudi. I think I'll go put on some Zappa. Hmmm, tough choice.... do I want the satirical Zappa, the serious Zappa, the instrumental genius Zappa.... so much to choose from.

[NoSillyName]

Well, I read this piece thinking maybe it would open my mind to ABBA if I knew more about them.

DID NOT HAPPEN.

Didn't listen to them then, won't listen to them now.

I can't tolerate POP vocals. I don't know ABBA lyrics and can only think of a few words of the chorus to "Dancing Queen" and the refrain "Waterloo, Waterloo".

Actually shocked to learn they have such a large fan base.

[customgreen]

They were o.k. to listen to. Their popular songs were kind of bubble gum hits. A lot of those guilty pleasures in music are out there. The Monkeys, The Archies, you name it they all had upbeat songs that are true toe tappers. ABBA does have more talent and hit the right heart strings at the right time. The true test is weather their music stands the test of time. Some of it has, but some of it faded away. At least they didn't do the Vegas route ala Elvis. Besides the one chick (sorry for the macho stuff) was hot as hell! lol. Oh yeah, disco sucks. lol

[operalovr]

I didn't appreciate ABBA as much when they were the world's pop chart toppers, but when the film 'Muriels Wedding' came out, I found myself loving the music. As time went by, I started to really listen to the lyrics, arrangements, etc. and thought that they would be wonderful in a musical. Guess what? They are. I have never had so much fun at the theater as when I saw Mamma Mia, and intend to see the film as soon as it is released. It is so much more pleasant than the nihilistic, gangster rap, hip-hop crapola that permeates the airwaves these days. ABBA deserves a lot of credit for their body of work, including the musical 'Chess' and another based on the life of a Scandinavian heroine. I am saddened my Bjorn Ulvaeus' memory loss. He has brought such joy to so many, and can't even remember why. That is sad.

[funwithwarcrimes]

The London production was fabulous and remains one of the most electric theatrical events of my life.
Imagine a cross between a rock concert and a really funny story...the entire theater was standing and singing for the last 15 minutes of the show and at a quick glance there were at least 4 generations of women in the audience. The film should be a blast.

[meanguy]

there is nothing even REMOTELY 'rock concert' about abba...

[JeffDeVore]

In a world of things worthy of animosity, hating ABBA seems a waste of a perfecctly good emotion. I prefer Gordon Lightfoot or Bowie, but "hate ABBA"? What's to fuckin' hate? (Though I confess, harpsichord music and rock with a Wurlitzer Organ (even by the Doors) makes me cringe.)

[jhamm1]

For me, there's plenty to hate about ABBA, first and foremost of which concerns that cringe-inducing motif instigated in the upper registers of that Baldwin in "Dancing Queen" which summons an overpowering urge to instigate a little rendezvous between the business end of a machete and the wrists of that insuferable pianist. Yuch!

[MerhabaAbi]

I guess I'm lucky, There's very little music that I find distasteful let alone hate. I've got my favorite sound, guitar oriented rock of the 70s. But pop, rap metal and country sound good with talented musicians and a decent sound system. Just don't try head-banging with 6 or 9 inch speakers, they make thrash sound like trash. Abba was a good band, They weren't Fleetwood Mac, but who was. I just never undersood the vitriol surrounding disco. Sure most of it sucked, but that was mostly lack of talent and rush production.

[Rockerbabe]

Meryl Streep rocks! Colin Firth is gorgeous, even when he isn't in Mr. Darcy mode! Pierce Brosnan is handsome and Stellan Skarsgard is ruggedly good looking and all are over 40!!!! Great music and headed and developed and directed by women - what's not to like?

[RedDogBear]

I only saw a few seconds preview on the Daily Show but that was enough. What's not to like? Brosnan is even a worse singer than an actor. I wouldn't have thought that possible.

[bushlies]

For some reason I like to play this junk (and yes, I know it's junk) while I'm driving. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because it keeps me happy and deters me from "flipping off" half the drivers I have to deal with here where I live. At least I haevn't been reduced to Celine Dion yet!

Movie sounds like a cute little "chick flik" I might go to see with my sister-in-law.

[PlantGod72]

Sheesh, I'm guessing some of you guys are the ragtag remnants of the "I HATE DISCO" movement. So much musical snobbery.

Sometimes there's no explaining why things bring us joy.........they just do!

[jhamm1]

And some of us simply represent the "pro-disco, anti-ABBA" crowd, such as myself. Trust me. There is such a thing.

[NoSillyName]

I agree, jhamm1. ABBA wasn't disco; they were POP. I resisted it at for a few years, but there was some very good disco music and singers. Evelyn "Champagne" King comes to mind. She has a great voice and "Shame" was a great song. There were others that were out of my normal rock-jazz-classical rotation and I probably wouldn't have listened to any disco if it hadn't been for one of my housemates at the time.

[brianmmulligan]

I'm embarassed when I remember the seventies. I hated ABBA and liked the 'alternative' artists such as Neil Young and Genesis. I was also into Joni Mitchell and followed her into jazz music which is now my main interest. However, now a I listen back with a critical ear I see the ingenious melodies and sophisticated arrangements of ABBA and realise what rubbish most of that folk and rock was. I have to forgive myself, as I was only a teenager, but thankfully I've grown up now.

[NoSillyName]

Now THAT is funny!!!!

[Erisian]

What I find really funny is that people still insist on catagorizing music as "alternative", jazz, hip-hop, Krautrock, Prog, Classical.... The older I get the more I find quality music across all genres. Talent is talent, however it expresses itself. Besides, good music cannot be classified as a single type of music, it draws and blends from any and all inspirations.

I'm curious as to how the discussion would go if it were a show called "School's Out" based on Alice Cooper, or something based on Yes, or whatever. We've seen 'The Who' produce their own shows, we've seen shows on rockstars from Ritchie Valens (La Bomba) to Jim Morrison, to Sid Vicious.

If the show is well produced and you like the music enjoy the show, if not then just don't go. Each of us finds pleasure,happiness, and/or beauty in different things.

[michie62]

neil young alternative? Rock and Roll King, not alternative.

[paixa3]

Hey Jesse, you forgot to mention why 'Dancing Queen' was written and when, where and why the first performance took place...........you did not dig deep enough.

By and by, I read the stage reviews and the play was accepted very well.

[hepwa]

People who "hate" ABBA are incapable of true joy, especially if they have to come to the Huffington Post to express that hate. I pity you.

[NoSillyName]

Surely you jest. True joy can be found in many places, non-ABBA.

[NoSillyName]

For instance, Coltrane's 1961 version of "My Favorite Things", all 13:41 minutes of it.