More "Mamma Mia!"

My friend "John M." (not his real name) evidently writes his movie reviews the way Charles Dickens used to publish his novels -- in serial format. Here's Part Two of his preview of Mamma Mia!

Now that we've covered the female leads, let's take a look and see how the males:

- Stellan Skarsgård (Bill): I don't know a lot about Mr. Skarsgård's past work. IMDB lists the multitude of films the actor has been in. Who knows, he may also have a Saab commercial under his belt. As the adventurous world traveler Bill, Stellan gives a middle-of-the-road performance as one of the possible fathers to Donna's illegitimate daughter. He cruises through the movie, acting and singing, without really leaving an impact on the viewer, other than the comedic performance during "Take a Chance on Me."

You know what it is? The viewer never gets to really know Bill. Actually, I, as the viewer, never felt a connection to most of the main characters. There was never a time I felt compelled to root for any of them. In the film's defense, it is hard to feel for a eight characters in a 120-minute movie that depicts the goings-on of a 36-hour period. I felt the part of Bill seemed smaller in the film than in the stage musical.

- Pierce Brosnan (Sam): Let's say you're an ABBA addict, or a Mamma Mia! maven, or maybe a film aficionado. You see that British actor Pierce Brosnan is going to be in the film adaptation of Mamma Mia. Your first thought may be: "PIERCE BROSNAN IS IN MAMMA MIA!!!" Or it may be: "That Bond guy who was in Mrs. Doubtfire is doing Mamma Mia!???" My thought before seeing the film was the former. After seeing the film, it is the latter.

All the ingredients were there: debonair man, distinctive voice, worldly charm. But as I have learned from watching "Top Chef," all the ingredients can be there, and Tom Colicchio will still call the end result bland and unsatisfying. While Mr. Brosnan is a good actor, and easy on the eyes, it was his performance in the musical portions that made me a bit uneasy. It wasn't that the man is a bad singer, it's that there was a lack of connection with the audience. Yes, I know it's a movie. Nevertheless, a celluloid actor has the ability to connect with the audience. When I saw the film adaptation of Chicago, I felt for Roxie and each musical performance intensified it.

Here. . . not so much. The best example was when he and Ms. Streep sang "S.O.S." During that number, I felt as uncomfortable watching it as I do during various scenes of "The Office." Unfortunately, a total and unequivocal miscast.

Coming up next: "John M."'s assessment of Colin Firth's performance and his overall summary of the film. Hopefully we'll get this before the film actually opens, but you know how these multi-part epics can drag out . . .