Could someone explain to me exactly how successful the movie version of Mamma Mia was? Because the fact that we have Mamma Mia rip-off films suggests that it was a way bigger hit than I remember. Frankly, if people love Mamma Mia for reasons besides watching non-singing superstars belting out ABBA tunes, I can see the British export Walking on Sunshine being of interest. The visual look and plot of the two films are pretty similar, as both focus on a wedding and are set on beautiful Mediterranean islands. And, let’s be real, the plots aren’t very important except for as a device to get between musical numbers – which means the movie rises or falls on the strength of the performances of these songs.
The plot of Walking on Sunshine (what paper thin one we have) focuses on a Maddie (Annabel Scholey of Being Human), who is getting married to a Raf (Giulio Berruti, who is so boring) in Italy. What she doesn’t know, however, that is her sister Taylor (singer Hannah Arterton, sister of Gemma), also fell in love with Raf. Of course, this causes confusion and complications, there is a wedding, and Maddie’s creepy ex (Greg Wise, who seems to be in everything lately) resurfaces. There are some friends (comic Katy Brand and singer Leona Lewis) who provide support – mostly vocal. But really, the plot is so unimportant and uninteresting that there’s no reason to go further than telling you that somebody’s getting married, no matter how immature the relationship.
The movie is being marketed to the Glee/American Idol crowd, with the tagline “Pitch Perfect Meets Mamma Mia.” That is not true. Even with all its flaws, Pitch Perfect (and Pitch Perfect 2) are miles above this movie. So is Mamma Mia, and earlier jukebox musical Moulin Rouge. But Walking on Sunshine also isn’t a complete catastrophe in the tradition of trainwrecks like Rock of Ages and From Justin to Kelly. The movie is nothing special, bland, and uninspired – but somewhat painless and occasionally enjoyable because the singing is often good.
And it better be, because this cast was clearly selected on the basis of their voices first, and acting chops second. Scholey and Arterton tend to split singing responsibilities (although Lewis and Brand are the best singers in the cast): Arterton takes most of the ballads, and she’s pretty good at the emotional moments (which don’t transfer to when she’s just speaking); Scholey sings the pop dance numbers, and commits to the musical theater elements (she clearly enjoys the mermaid sequence), but her voice isn’t as strong as the other women. And she is often paired with Wise, who is a great actor – but not a very good singer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did this purely because he felt left out of Mamma Mia. Unfortunately, despite being a pretty youthful, charming actor, he’s super creepy as her ex-boyfriend, who is a bit too lecherous in the performance.
Personally, I like musicals, and I give a lot of slack to the genre to be lacking things I usually think are important – like story. Most musicals are pretty light on plot; but a simple plot doesn’t mean it has to be illogical, and this movie is. Walking on Sunshine sometimes feels like it exists in an alternative universe, where 20-somethings know way too much about the ’80s. And the film also never makes it clear when the musical numbers are fantasy or reality, which is a big problem. The characters also have no genuine connection to one another, and at any minute, I wasn’t sure how close the sisters actually were. And neither of them have any chemistry with boring Raf.
But again, despite all this, I didn’t hate this movie – I just wouldn’t recommend seeing it. It isn’t good enough to sit back and enjoy, but it also isn’t bad enough to hate-watch. It might have some sleep over potential for 11- or 12-year-olds, but the movie isn’t always child appropriate. Why does a movie like this need a strip club scene? And the problem with jukebox musicals is the problem I have with karaoke (which the musical arrangements remind me of): watching other people do karaoke isn’t as fun as doing karaoke, and watching these performances isn’t as fun as just singing the songs myself.
Lesley Coffin is a New York transplant from the midwest. She is the New York-based writer/podcast editor for Filmoria and film contributor at The Interrobang. When not doing that, she’s writing books on classic Hollywood, including Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector and her new book Hitchcock’s Stars: Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood Studio System.
–Please make note of The Mary Sue’s general comment policy.–
Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?
