Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Mamma Mia, here I go again...

Last night my friend Kim and I went to Leicester Square and Covent Gardens for a little "Girls' Night Out." And I have to say that it was incredibly successful.

We spent a little while browsing various street vendors and shady souvenir shops. We had some pretty good finds. Like scarves that were 2 for £5 (we bought a lot of them, so the lady was nice and gave us each a free one too). And I found myself a Bloomingdale's "medium brown bag" (I love knock-offs, and I'm not ashamed to say that I own several purses of that nature).

After shopping, we grabbed dinner at a little middle-eastern style deli. It was my first time eating falafel. Quite good. And cheap. I think I'll go back there for lunch sometime, seeing as the euronews office is right around the corner.

The highlight of the night was going to see Mamma Mia: the movie at the Odeon Theatre in Leicester Square. The movie premiered there last week. I was expecting a normal movie theater, previews, etc. I was wrong. Not only did we have assigned seating and an usher who took us to our leopard-print upholstered seats...we also got exclusive souvenir programs, a live organ performance, and a look back at footage from the world premiere last week. Everyone cheered as the lights dimmed and the movie started.

I've never seen the musical, so I didn't know what to expect. But I thought the movie was brilliant. Kim and I couldn't keep from dancing in our seats during several of the songs. And neither could the people sitting beside us. And behind us. We all clapped to the beat and sang along with Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, and Christine Baranski as they sang "Dancing Queen". We danced to the beat of "Take a Chance on Me". I've never had so much fun in a movie theater. I mean, come on, you can't help but dance when ABBA is playing.

The characters were amazing. I particularly enjoyed Meryl Streep's performance as Donna, a free-spirited single mom running an old hotel on a remote island in Greece. I love her versatility as an actress.

Pierce Brosnan had a great performance as well. But then, he's just downright attractive. Can he do any wrong?
Good story, amazing cast, rad music...basically, this was the ultimate feel-good movie. I highly recommend it. And I got to see it before any of you. Haha! Look for it when it's released in the States

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