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The strength and independence of the film's female characters, as well as the nonchalance with which the film deals with Donna's sexual history, have gained the attention of feminist writers, who see in the film a wonderfully subversive social critique as Sarah Seltzer explains:

"It's hard to imagine a movie
that's come out recently that is, at its core, as offensive to the
right wing's so-called family values. The film's women -- including a mother
and daughter -- accept each other as sexual beings. Donna isn't punished
for her earlier promiscuity, and Amanda isn't forced to get married
despite her clear sexual maturity. The concept of three men revolving
around a matriarchal family core is celebrated."

But the essential element that lends such joie de vivre to the film is that it is ultimately about a community of people, one that nonjudgmentally accepts one another and is there to celebrate life's passages and transitions together.

The contrast to the urban loneliness in that other big "chick flick" of the summer, Sex and the City, is striking, as Jane Becker notes:

"The women in 'SATC' are a good 20 years younger than their
counterparts in 'Mama', but they seem infinitely less happy.  They sit
around coffee shops and trendy restaurants discussing their
unhappiness. The women in 'Mama' sing and dance. Christine Baranski kicks ass on
the dance floor, Julie Walters chews through the scenery and
Meryl…well, Meryl does a split in the air after bouncing off a bed.  When I grow up, I want to be them."