ABBAlanche!!

In 1972, the world became enamored with the Swedish pop stylings of ABBA. With irresistible little gems like Waterloo, Fernando, and of course Dancing Queen. Just try to go to a wedding, high school dance, or karaoke bar without being trapped by an ABBA song. Of course, their tasty little hooks will keep you elated, but you'll feel guilty in the morning.

We're in the middle of an ABBAlanch. We were treated with the indie hit Muriel's Wedding in 1994. Muriel (played by Toni Collette) has an insatiable desire to have a wedding - paired with an incurable ABBA obsession. It is awkward, funny, sweet...and fueled by ABBA.

Muriel's Wedding was a source of inspiration (per IMDB's trivia section) for the theater equivalent of The Titanic - Mama Mia. The plot was adapted from Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell - set to the ABBA catalog - and needless to say - was a GIANT success. Worldwide obsession-level success. Successful enough to spur...yet another movie.

Opening tomorrow (July 18th) here in the US, the Meryl-Streep-led cast of beautiful people (Colin Firth....aw yeah) enjoy the ultimate Karaoke party in the movie adaptation of Mama Mia. Yes, we've come full circle. And, after watching the trailer to research this - it does look like a fun chick flick. Why? You already know the songs! If you were born between 1975 and 1982, there's a good chance these songs are implanted in your soul (you're not to blame...it's the media!). Plus, I have to trust that Ms. Streep would have the judgement (although, she did take part in She-Devil).

I expect this will be the "Batman was sold out, so we had to see this" movie. Remember Phenomenon with John Travolta (it's like Powder...but, ya know, with Scientology)? You probably only saw that in the theater because you couldn't find a parking place before your showing of Independence Day was full. But will it have the cult draw of Muriel's Wedding? Will it be the next great musical (Chicago) or the next overrated music video (Dreamgirls)?

But, ABBA keeps going strong. They're appearing on more movie soundtracks, including this summer's Get Smart remake, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry last year. I expect this trend to continue. Now that ABBA has past from the "This song takes me back to..." crowd to the kitsch-zone, it is on the way to becoming "classic." (I'll cover more about disco and other music becoming 'classic' in another post).

The bigger question: what will fall next in the ABBAlanche? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a first person shooter...