It's been a while since I've seen this one, and I've only seen it
once, but I admit to being pleasantly surprised. I had seen the stage
production and thought it was great, but in my opinion, plays don't
often translate well to the screen. I HATED *Chicago*. It's just
that movies and plays have a different feel to them, and if you do a
movie and make it feel too much like a play, it feels really corny and
awkward and crappy. So, I was really, really glad when *Mama Mia*
ended up being a solidly enjoyable, well-done musical film. I assumed
it would be terrible and hard to watch, but I liked it.
I think my main motivation for responding to your post, however, is to
recognize your admiration of Streep. I honestly think she might be
one of my favorite actresses, which strikes me as funny only because I
think for a 32 year old guy like myself, that's not an obvious way to
go. But I think she's consistently very, very good. I take guff about
this from people, so I'm glad to see that you appreciate her talent.