If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had a conversation in which someone said “you HAVEN’T seen Mama Mia??” I’d have enough money to fly myself to the Skopelos Island in Greece and live the movie for myself.

A movie musical, rom-com, girl power movie like Mama Mia would be right up my alley, so why hadn’t I seen it? Was it that I was afraid I wouldn’t live up to the hype? Was it because I didn’t think it looked that good? Was it because I literally procrastinate everything? Who knows! But I finally sat myself down, kicked my feet up, and watched the movie>  Here’s a review from (apparently) one of the last people on Earth to see it:

In short, I loved it. The music is infectious, the characters’ bonds are heartwarming, and the story itself is captivating beginning to end. I knew the Mama Mia soundtrack going into the movie, but getting the context behind the songs- like learning that the popular song “Honey, Honey” takes place when Sophie is telling her friends Ali and Lisa the tales from her mother’s journal from her youth- only made the songs better. The musical numbers range from upbeat and danceable to emotional and heartfelt, and the random inclusion of extras into spontaneous dance numbers adds a nice flavor of humor to the movie overall.

Aside from the music, the plot of the movie is genuinely really captivating and enjoyable to watch. The movie takes place around the days leading up to Sophie’s wedding to her fiancé Sky. Sophie has lived in Greece with her mom, Donna, who runs a small hotel on their little island, her whole life, and has always been tortured by not knowing who her father was. Over the previous summer, Sophie discovered her mom’s journal from the summer she was born, and finds out that her mother was involved with three guys- Sam, Harry, and Bill- any of which could be her father. She decides to take the initiative to forge invitations to her wedding to the three men as if they came from her mother, thinking it will be a great surprise for her mom. To make a long, complicated story short: the three men show up, Donna flips out, the three men all end up thinking they’re Sophie’s dad, Sophie wants them to walk her down the aisle but opts for her Sophie and Sky decide to not get married yet, and Donna marries Sam.

I remember thinking throughout the movie, “if I don’t find out WHICH one of these guys is Sophie’s dad I’m going to freak out.” But by the end of the movie, I realized that that was not even close to what the movie was all about. Mama Mia is a story about the journey of self-discovery for many of the characters, and the path one must take to learn that all we truly need in life is to surround ourselves with people we love, which is a lesson all the characters needed to learn. Donna learns that she can be independent and strong and still accept love from others. Sophie learns that she doesn’t need to have a big wedding or to know who her father is to be complete. Sky realizes that he doesn’t need to be a huge business mogul to be happy and to feel successful. By the end of the film, all of the characters have come to learn that love truly is all you need, and as a viewer, we learn this lesson and the true meaning of the film along with them.

Mama Mia is a truly heartwarming movie that promotes a sense of empowerment, love, sisterhood, and strength throughout. Embellished with feel good and entertaining musical numbers and performances, Mama Mia is a the feel good, uplifting movie I never knew I needed.