Muriel's Wedding: As Good as an ABBA Song?

Thursday Night and the Lights were Loooow
We screened Muriel’s Wedding, sooo…

I was thinking: to what extent can music be utilized in a film? Does it hurt or help? And, if it helps, does that indicate weakness in the writing, acting, or direction?
A lot of people either love ABBA, or cannot stand the sound of it. I’m curious if this effects whether people would critique Muriel’s Wedding.
For example, say you hate Coldplay…
Would you be willing to watch a movie that used all their songs? Even if the characters and storyline were interesting, would you be less engages because of the soundtrack?
ABBA music is one of the things that really drew me to Muriel’s Wedding. The music for this film, as you may have noticed, does not stay in the background. It seemed to be a driving force of the story. You even might say ABBA music is a major character for the impact it has on Muriel’s life.

“Since I met you…my life is as good as an ABBA song. It’s as good as Dancing Queen.”

Honestly, I think the storyline is very strong, but I wonder if it would still have that sparkle without ABBA playing along.
Was it a mistake on P.J Hogan’s part to depend so heavily on the music? Muriel’s Wedding was a compelling story, well written and acted—but it does use the music quite a bit. The ABBA songs create mood, deliver certain messages, and just add that pizazz. Without it, there wouldn’t be the great karaoke scene with Muriel and Rhonda singing “Waterloo.”
Some might say music becomes a crutch for a film if it aids the telling of the story. What should draw us to Muriel’s Wedding: the plot and dialogue, or for catchy ABBA hits?
It’s not completely a random choice of music. ABBA became very popular in Australia, breeding “ABBAholics” like our friend Muriel.

Here's some background: ABBA is an acronym for the 4 members’s names: Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Anni-Frid (who goes by Frida).

The band was Swedish, but toured quite a bit through Australia, particularly Sydney and Melbourne. When “I do I do I do” and “Mamma Mia” aired on national TV in 1975, their success skyrocketed. So, even though Muriel’s Wedding was set in the 90s, it would make sense that she knows and likes this music.
Also, the signature trademarks of ABBA go along with the movie’s themes:

1) Female Mateship: Agnetha and Frida singing close together in harmony on stage.

2) Marriage and the unhappy heterosexual dynamic: Benny and Frida were married, as were Agnetha and Bjorn. The marriages broke up at the height of their success.

3) Fashion as a way to stand out: ABBA was known for their colorful, oft sparkling stage costumes.

Should the writing and direction have taken care of establishing those themes? Or is it okay for music to help out?
Think of Garden State, Hustle and Flow, or any other movie (that isn’t a musical) you bought the soundtrack to. Did you buy the film as well? Could the film stand without it?
In my opinion, P.J Hogan didn’t depend to much on ABBA. He just found a really creative use of their songs to tell a story.

Here is a clip of how the song "Waterloo" was used for the ending credits of Mamma Mia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K46H0ixqbYk

Mamma Mia has the same great song, great costumes, and a lot of great times--but more like a music video than anything. The "Waterloo" in Muriel's Wedding was more enjoyable for me because of the circumstances of the story it is set in. But that's just my take!

Thanks for an interesting Aussie film, Hogan.
And ABBA? “Thank you for the music”!