Kids in London - Mamma Mia

My 10 year old daughter desperately wanted to go along to see the theatre production and I resisted - not being a great fan of musicals in general or Abba in particular. So I felt I really ought to indulge her when she asked to see the film...

And what a pleasant surprise! It is rare for me to laugh out loud at the cinema but I did so on countless occasions during this film. It had a reasonable plot, great locations, a fantastic cast (including the lovely Colin Firth), brilliantly staged song and dance routines and lots and lots of humour (even excluding Pearse Brosnan's brave attempts at singing). Whoever wrote the screen play really knew their Abba songs and slotted them effortlessly into the storyline and scenes.

Whilst the initial heroine (the daughter) was predictably young and slim, the three real heroines (including Meryl Streep who sang amazingly well and the fabulous Julie Walters)were well into their 50s and therefore an inspiration to the more mature women amongst us that we can continue to lark about, dance and dress up and party for as long as we are able. And I loved the scene where one of the bright young males makes a move on one of those older heroines.

Despite not wanting to, I couldn't help joining in with the enthusiastic singing of the audience (and I understand they are releasing a sing-a-long version soon) and I was actually moved at the drama in "Winner takes it all".

I left the cinema with a huge grin on my face and a spring in my step. My daughter continued to hum the tunes until I agreed to load up the neglected Abba Gold album onto her Ipod. And we might now go along to the stage production.

The ultimate chick-flick? I dunno. But certainly a very unexpected pleasure.

:applause: