Dear Colin Firth: Personally I Thought You Were Very Good in ‘Mamma Mia!’

Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth turns a dashing 61 today. The English actor has made us swoon in 1995’s classic Pride & Prejudice miniseries, the Renée Zellweger film Bridget Jones’s Diary, and the holiday rom-com Love, Actually. Firth has an Academy Award for his work in The King’s Speech and a filmography full of accolades and triumphs. However, during his 2011 appearance on Inside the Actors Studio, Firth revealed a sore spot in his filmography. His turn as Harry Bright in the 2008 and 2018 Mamma Mia! films…

The issue came up towards the end of the episode when then-host James Lipton pressed each guest to answer the Proust Questionnaire. When Lipton asked Firth, “If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?”, Firth replied: “Personally I thought you were very good in Mamma Mia!”

Firth’s British deadpan gave it a twinge of cheeky sarcasm. The implication is Firth is in on the joke that his loud and campy portrayal of a closeted gay man in an ABBA movie musical is not considered the highlight of his career. However the fact that it’s a joke at all reveals a tiny pinprick of insecurity.

So I’m here today, on Colin Firth’s birthday, to reassure the movie star that he was really good in Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again.

Mamma Mia! is a rather absurd film contained within its own private universe of sheer orgasmic glee. Based on the ABBA songbook, the film follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a young bride who dreams of having her birth father attend her wedding and walk her down the aisle. The only problem is her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) refused to reveal who her father is. After reading Donna’s diaries, Sophie realizes it’s because it could be one of three men, including the sweet rocker-turned-square Harry Bright. Sophie impulsively invites all three men to the Greek island she calls home. When the men arrive they all start revisiting that magical summer with Donna…to the music of ABBA.

Now here’s the thing: everything about Mamma Mia! is ridiculous, including the fact that most of the film’s stars can’t really sing. That doesn’t matter, though. Mamma Mia! is less about recreating an extraordinary theater experience than it is about conveying sheer joy. You know, the way you feel when you’re warbling ABBA in the shower or scream-singing it at karaoke. It’s escapist fare. And in that capacity, Colin Firth’s performance is perfect.

Firth and his co-stars embrace the silliness of the films without embarrassment or cynicism. They just throw themselves into the wild conceit and sing their weak vocal chords out. It’s charming. It’s sweet. It’s just fun. And it’s precisely the type of performance this film series needs.

Colin Firth, you don’t have to wait until you shuffle off this mortal coil and meet the man upstairs. I can tell you personally, I thought you were very good in Mamma Mia!

Happy birthday, Mr. Firth!

Where to stream Mamma Mia!