Chick Flicks and a Loss of Manliness

So my office was a sponsor of the movie Mamma Mia! I didn't know anything about the movie... only that some girl was on the poster with a bright smile and a flowing dress... which usually means chick flick. Most of the time, chick flick, for me, means to find something better to do with two hours of your life. Now, I'll be honest. I don't hate ALL chick flicks... just MOST of them. I was really bored to watch the ones I do like... but they just aren't something I would choose to watch. Mamma Mia was no different.

Well, our office is sponsoring the movie. The result of the sponsoring was a free ticket to a pre-opening night screening for every employee. That wasn't enough to sway me... my toenail clipping time took priority over a free movie - ESPECIALLY chick flicks. Then my boss (yes, the one who has been blogged about recently) offered to pay for my dinner just so he wouldn't be the only guy there. Free dinner, free movie... I can deal with that.

There were two bad things about the movie - First, Pierce Brosnan can't sing. Not a single note. It's one of those things where you know he can't sing... you just can't visualize a former James Bond singing ABBA songs. But he's terrible. I'd rather listen to New Kids On The Block Sings The Blues. The movie was tolerable until he opened his non-singing lips. Then it went downhill quickly.

Speaking of downhill, there was one other thing wrong with the movie. The ending. The ending wasn't a bad one. It was the amount of singing towards the end that was killing me. Throughout the movie, it wasn't too overwhelming. But the last half hour, there was so much singing that I was ready to drive my forehead through a brick wall just so I didn't have to hear it anymore.

All of that said, it wasn't a bad movie. There were funny parts and cute parts and even a little bit of action. Outside of Pierce's singing, his acting wasn't that bad... and neither was the rest of the cast. My official rating of the movie - 2.5 out of 5 stars. (And btw - the movie was based on ABBA songs... is it bad that after seeing the movie, the ONLY ABBA song I recognized was still Dancing Queen? Is it bad that I was even happier I didn't grow up listening to them? I mean it was fun, but to have to hear it on a regular basis... )

Of course, this movie makes me wonder - why do guys hate chick flicks so much? Or am I the only guy who hates them? Maybe it's because they defy everything that is masculine? I mean... most of my movies have crass jokes, probably a sex scene or at least a really long topless scene, some action and maybe some blood. A chick flick plot has something to do with a relationship that went sour and how it was fixed. A d*ck flick plot has something do with their best friend getting killed and getting revenge. I definitely fall into the other category... and after seeing Mamma Mia, I think I need to watch the entire Rocky series backed by Alien and Predator movies until my chest hairs grow back.