Undescribable Perfection

Purely Joyful Movie!

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

hey, i am going to be 60 still jiving listening to ABBA, which i do very often...those were the days...i happened to live during the GODS days...i was one of those luckiest guys to get a gift of ABBA LP signed (autographed) by them....from a captain of a Hungarian ship....he is my angel....enjoy ABBA for ever as there won't be another....i watched ABBA the movie 53 times cutting college classes...of course failed in many subjects....but it happens in life...part of life...no regrets....i am still going steady in life...building enterprises...creative and innovative and constructive and productive...all because of music that i love and ABBA that i love...ABBA - The GODS !!!

Freelance journalist (Hughes) is on the trail of super group ABBA to capture a scoop after a series of mishaps causes him to miss the arranged press interview leaving him without the crucial audio his boss believes he has secured. The film then revolves around his city hopping antics as he documents the events through interviews with fans, coming ever closer to the elusive interview with the group themselves.Not an especially gripping yarn, Hughes however appears realistic as the intrepid disc jockey who'll stop at nothing to cobble together a documentary about the superstars. Along the way we're treated to actual concert footage and substantial song performances which should please fans. Local viewers might be attracted to the location work and nostalgia of late 70's Australian capital cities and fashion.I caught this movie late one night on the ABC network and though not a fan, decided to watch for a minute or two just to appreciate the history - an hour and a half later I was surprisingly entertained. Despite the somewhat inane title, it's not a docu-drama or concert vignette, but a reasonable plot with an engaging central character and fluent narrative.

First, let me say that there's Abba-solutely nothing wrong with an Abba concert performance movie - I am all in favour of same. Unfortunately, Abba - The Movie ain't it.I saw this movie years ago on a grainy VHS tape in 4:3 format. The current cinema presentation, in widescreen opening out to Panavision, in a crisp remastered digital print, is beautiful to look at. The music is as great as it has always been, and Abba work hard to deliver a good, if slightly cheesy, live show, which they clearly all enjoy. And, on that basis, what a wonderful movie this is.But I had completely forgotten the linking "plot" involving the reporter trying to get an interview. Not only is this misconceived, woefully unfunny, profoundly irritating and just plain awful in every conceivable way (and a good number which aren't conceivable), it's like one of those dogs which lies in doorways and halls - every time you turn round, there the damn thing is, getting in the way, and probably breaking wind at the same time. And it wouldn't be so bad if they'd come up with a linking "plot" which actually involved Abba, but no - all you have this this vastly unsympathetic bloke wandering about with a tape recorder, being hassled by his boss and being thrown out by Lou from Neighbours as a comedy relief medallion man minder.This movie is like the most beautiful woman in the world having a humongous wart for a nose.At least I could fast forward the reporter bits on the VHS tape.

This has some muddy nostalgia value as I recall seeing the film as a kid at the cinema with my sister and my Dad. Dad moaned to the management about how loud the music was, then was promptly ill in bed for the next two days.Now, even at the time, having seen A Hard Day's Night and Help! where the Fab Four are at the forefront of events and let us into their world, it seemed that this film fobbed us off with the story of a hapless disc jockey trailing the band across their tour of Australia, under pressure to deliver an in-depth interview.He misses press conferences, loses his press card, gets stuck in traffic jams. It quickly becomes tedious, repetitive and bad-tempered. All the more so because it depicts Abba as lovely untouchables at far remove.And also because - wait for it- Abba are soon revealed as officially The Worst Band Ever. Yep. Given a chance to shine at a press conference, they exhibit the intellectual savvy of the Cheeky Girls and the energy and wit of former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson. It's like they're actually trying to be uninteresting. The biggest laughs come from a question asked by a journalist. Suddenly you can see why music hacks hated them at the time. And the blokes have all the charisma of John Major, they seemed nervy, like they're unwillingly backing into the limelight. The sexy blonde one has a low profile and the dark one seems a bit forward, a bit OTT. How I longed for the Beatles' four personalities: the knockabout Ringo, the rapier wit of Lennon, the wry sardonic wit of George and Paul's laid back, insouciant cool.As I downed my third glass of Savignon Blanc I gloomily reflected that the band resembled the hosts of a Swedish suburban swinging club, where the evening would start off promisingly only to find yourself in the kitchen with Benny discussing the merits of the Yamaha synthesizer while the blonde one keeps out of sight...But the songs! Well, yes, this was Abba at their height, but they don't make much impact, every other song being a forgotten album track sung by the blokes. All are taken from the concerts, which is visually repetitive and sees the girls bathed in red light; unlike The Beatles however much of their visual appeal came from their cute, quirky videos.I gradually came to see the band in its imperial phase as a bunch of fascists taking over the world, only without the drive and ideology... Like the Beatles Love musical, this one will do what you never thought possible, and put you right off the band. Only latterly did I realise, with horror, that the hapless DJ spends the film being punished for not being an ABBA fan, and it's only after he's paid to see them in concert and is 'converted', bathed in an ethereal glow, that's he's allowed his time with them. Horrid. This was, of course, before ABBA became popular in an ironic, slightly indulgent way.BTW the Swedish director went on to better things; Chocalet and The Shipping News.