Pierce Brosnan in Mama Mia Movie- Page 3

[amoni]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 5:48pm

"I think Colin Firth is about as famous as Pierce Brosnan."

Great Googley Moogley, some of you here really do live in your own private Idaho. Pierce Brosnan starred in a long running TV series that has played all over the world and starred as James Bond in in four smash 007 hit movies. Colin Firth, as lovely a man and as terrific an actor he is, well, didn't.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 6:03pm

Brosnan was fine in the movie until he sang. Anyone that is seriously defending his vocal performance needs to see the movie again. People burst out in laughter at my theater when he sang...and that somehow gave the director a cue to give him another solo at the climax of the movie? He was pretty well cast but they should have got someone to dub him...Marni Nixon?

[degrassifan]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 6:10pm

So, I finally saw it just now, and here's what I think about Pierce Brosnan's singing: it isn't the best, but he wasn't that bad. It can be tolerated. No one laughed at him, except a little bit during "When All Is Said and Done." I cringed a bit, but you just get use to it. Of all the three fathers, I think Colin Firth was the best.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 6:49pm

He really wasn't that bad. he was no worse then Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney and people didn't make near as big of deal about her voice as they are him.

[ilovebroadway2]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 6:51pm

I have a confession - I laughed when he started to sing...but I love pierce brosnan. He's a legendary actor to me, at least, and I just think they should have found someone to dub over his voice. Though, it was pretty brave of him

[BillyE]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 7:10pm

i loved everything about this movie, except for the casting, starting with Meryl Streep, She's simply too old for the role of Donna ("young and sweet, only 17") 20 years plus nine months later, what does that make her, 38? That also makes everybody else around her out of whack. And as for Pierce Brosnan, "he sings like a water buffalo" (Star Ledger).

[amoni]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:13am

"Meryl Streep, She's simply too old for the role of Donna"

Well, Entertainmnet Weekly describes Louise Pitre, Broadway's original Donna as "the graying but still girlishly perky Donna"
in their review.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,253736,00.html

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 5:46am

Im sorry, while I dont live in a bubble, I was only five when Remington Steele was taken off the air, Im sure Im not the only one whose forgotten it. Im not a fan of BOND either but Im sure Brosnan was great, still I dont think Mamma Mia has the same audience and if it was a ploy to attract that audience, Im not sure it worked unless the objective was to make the man lose fans because people *were* laughing, mean spirited or not, in several theatres. A guy whose been in Nanny McPhee, Bridget Jones, What A Girl Wants... has a following and the kind of fanbase who will enjoy this movie and wont laugh at him no matter the ridiculousness of the situations hes placed in because they love him for it. Pierce may be a bigger name but I think its a negligible difference.

Honestly I think Bill is the most likeable character, I could have seen Pierce in that role, Stellan as Harry and Colin as Sam and I think it would have been a better movie. Keeping the big name star in a worthy role, not subjecting us to quite so much of his less than stellar singing and still managing to benefit from the 007 loving girls and the boyfriends who were dragged to see it because "look honey its James Bond"

[BWF]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:09am

It's a shame that this film will be remembered for the awfulness of Brosnan's voice. There's a lot to be said for dubbing...

[mmFan]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 12:58pm

I saw the Mamma Mia movie last weekend and loved it (although it can never match up to seeing it in the theatre). I'm a fan of Pierce Brosnans so was really looking forward to seeing him as Sam. He totally looked the part. Don't think he was the worst singer in the world, but surely would never make money off of his singing ability...and never would be cast as Sam in the live production. Having said that, I'm still glad that they used his voice as oppose to dubbing him as it's more real. Didn't like the song they added at the end. Seemed corny and forced...and they should have left it ending like the theatre production.

PS - I'm surprised to the comments about Meryl STreep. Thought she did a great job as Donna and my only dissapointment is that she didn't blast the last note in Winner Takes it All.

Updated On: 7/24/08 at 12:58 PM

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 2:58pm

I just think he's friggin gorgeous and can sing badly for me anytime.

Yes the film is cheezy. So what. The Broadway musical is as well. Who the heck is going in to Mamma Mia expecting a great masterpiece? It's ABBA for crying out loud! lol
You go to see it for fun. Because it IS fun.

[yukino]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 3:07pm

ok he was just horrible. nothing more. they could have chosen a better person.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 10:18pm

Thank you, Best12bars Well said and true.

Pierce was raw and perfect. Screw dubbing. Give me heart and soul and honesty any day.

I love him even more after this.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 7:47pm

I admit my bias: I have truly, madly, deeply loved Brosnan since The Manions of America. I suspect I am on the level of Beacon w my obsessive knowledge of his life & performances.And having heard all the badmouthing I was really depressed. Having now seen the film, while he is NOT the top pick for singing roles he was NOwhere near as bad as people were making out him to be. No one laughed in the screening I was in when he sung, his Sam was truly angst ridden over "the road not taken" ( it is SO difficult to just stand there and be "sung at" as in Winner Takes It All) He was on key for the most part ( I think I heard 2 x when the note seemed a bit strained) And it takes major B*lls to put yourself on film like this forever in spandex and platform shoes and I give him credit.
I never have had a problem differentiating him in his roles pre/post Bond- He really has done a lot- The Tailor from Panama,
Thomas Crown Affair, Lawnmower Man, Mrs. Doubtfire those are just the better known films. There is a slew of B+ movies out there where he played Irish fixers, murderous ( but charming) strangers, academics. He has a peculiar problem - he is TOO (conventionally) good looking to do the character roles I think he'd like to try- no one will take him seriously. ( yeah we should all be so unlucky)
All in- It could have been MUCH worse cough**Melanie**cough and I'll certainly buy the DVD to go into the rest of my collection.

[JP2]

Posted: 7/26/08 at 12:20am

Just got back..

Dear lord. That was, you guessed it, awful! The entire audience laughed every time he opened his mouth. He made Amanda Bynes seem like Kerry Butler in my mind.

[skb2010]

Posted: 7/26/08 at 12:34am

It could have been A LOT WORSE. Be glad he isn't completely tone deaf as well.

I also had a good time at the movie. It was fun. That is how it was supposed to be.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 7/26/08 at 1:04am

I HAVE seen the movie again and I liked his singing. Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, Joe Cocker (to name but a few)...all have that "gravel-y" tone to their voices, and they're wonderful. Robert Preston didn't have a great voice, neither did Rex Harrison. Glynis Johns croaks her way through A Little Night Music, but her rendition of "Send in the Clowns" is still the best.

And what about Elaine Stritch? She puts across the greatest song (arguably) Stephen Sondheim has ever written, and it's glorious. Listen to that woman's voice...it sounds like she's singing from her deathbed in ICU, but no one delivers The Ladies Who Lunch with more conviction, self-loathing and rage.

Alexis Smith, Bea Arthur, Lauren Bacall, Lin-Manuel Miranda...not "singers" but stars of hit musicals! And many of those I've mentioned won Tony Awards for their musical performances. (I will only concede this argument to ONE star who appeared in a Broadway musical: Katherine Hepburn. It's impossible to find a single soul in heaven or on earth who "enjoys" her singing in Coco. )

Give Pierce a break. Maybe you don't like his singing. That's okay; you don't have to, but just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's bad. Just the thought of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches makes me gag, but some people think they're fabulous, so who's "right"?

Offer you opinions, by all means, but at least make an attempt to be nice, and try to respect other people's opinions.

"Be on your guard! Jerks on the loose!"

http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html

**********

"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"

~ Best12Bars

[neddonovan]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 12:21pm

Reading old posts is painful. Delete :)

Updated On: 11/8/17 at 12:21 PM

[skb2010]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 2:09pm

I completely agree Mainer about the campy aspect. I have watched the movie again, though, and I think his singing is pretty good. Its real, and I give him major props, because he probably knows he isn't the best singer in Hollywood.


EDIT: Way for me to TOTALLY contradict myself

Updated On: 7/29/08 at 02:09 PM

[Patash]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 5:45pm

I just saw it today with a musical actor/musical director friend who graduated from Julliard in voice. He was ready to laugh at Pierce Brosnan based on all he's heard. Instead he turned in shock and said, "what's wrong with his singing?" Like all the others in the show (possible exception of Sophie), he uses his character's voice and not a concert voice. Did he ever miss a pitch? According to my friend, not a one. Would either of us pay money to hear him do a concert? Hell, no, are you kidding? But did it seem like Sam, this architect was singing? Yes. But my friend added the disclaimer, "what do I know. I liked Johnny Depp's singing in Sweeney Todd for exactly the same reason -- it didn't switch to a concert voice, I believed it was the character singing."

By the way, I think anyone who hears Meryl Streep sing Slipping Through My Fingers and still says she doesn't have a good singing voice is just plain crazy. But I loved that she also sings the songs as Donna and NOT in a concert voice, which with her instrument I'm sure she COULD do.

But if there hadn't been a power failure right in the middle of Take a Chance On Me, that we had to wait 5 minutes for them to restart, I would have liked the show even more than I did! Talk about losing momentum!

Oh and for those who keep ranting on about Meryl Streep's age and wanting someone younger, I was surprised that she seemed considerably younger than her two cohorts (especially Tanya who is supposed to have a lifetime of plastic surgery). My friend's wife was surprised after the movie when we told her Meryl Streep is pushing 60 -- she thought she looked fabulous for a 40 year old who has spent the last 20 years in the Greek sun working 24 hours a day. She too felt if anything Streep looked younger than her two friends. In fact all 6 adults seemed very much alike in age. Figures since they were born in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1960. Yes, Colin Firth is a bit younger than the others, yet I could believe they were all about the same age. So those of you who want to recast Donna, I assume you want to recast the other 5 also? Updated On: 7/29/08 at 05:45 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 8:38pm

I agree with most of what Patash says about Streep's age.

And also with laughing out loud at Brosnan (as did quite a lot of the theater). But, he and his voice did end up winning me over.

[kec]

Posted: 7/29/08 at 9:19pm

"Colin Firth, as lovely a man and as terrific an actor he is, well, didn't. "

Maybe not, but he played one of classic literature's most romantic heros, Mr. Darcy.

As for Pierce Brosnan, I, too, think he was fine -- not the world's greatest singer, but he did well enough for a beginner. SOS was not good for his voice in my opinion, but the second song he sung was much better.

Patash, very interesting comments from your Julliard friend.

[jpbran]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 12:49am

"Maybe not, but he played one of classic literature's most romantic heros, Mr. Darcy."

On a television miniseries. EXACTLY the same.

[bundy5000]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 12:52am

The more young at heart you are, the less the aging process beings.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/30/08 at 2:20pm

What is strange about Firth is he actually had to sing for a film in Toronto and he didn't sound like this.. Even weirder is the sense I have that I'm being reminded of a 60-70's folksinger but not quite sure who. "Seasons in the Sun" singer perhaps? Not sure but I can't get "Our Last Summer " out of my head now trying to identify it. Earworms!! AggH!