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.
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.