Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
4 stars
Director: Ol Parker
Stars: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep
Duration: 116 mins
Class: PG
KRS Releasing Ltd

Disclaimer. I love ABBA. I loved the original Mamma Mia movie. I love the smash West End and Broadway musical the film is based on. 

But it’s not just me. That the stage musical is still going strong worldwide almost 20 years after its debut, and the movie grossed more than €600 million speaks volumes, so I am clearly not alone in my adulation.

And so, this inevitable sequel has big shoes to fill. Does Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in fact go where it has gone before, or does it bring something new to the mix? Well, a bit of both. The original cast is back; the setting is the same ridiculously picturesque Greek island of Kalokairi; and a number of Abba’s greatest hits are reprised… and some lesser-known songs get a nice airing. 

And yet, given the story takes us back to the past, when the young Donna (Lily James) met three young men (one of whom fathers her child), the story is shiny and new (to a point). Of course, we know the background to Donna’s trip to Greece as a young woman, which laid the foundations of her life bringing up Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on her own. Yet, that story by Ol Parker (who also directs), British screenwriting legend Richard Curtis and Mamma Mia creator Catherine Johnson brings that background story to vivid life, including a plot development which is completely unexpected.

The story picks up at Donna’s graduation, the film setting the tone when she bursts into a zesty rendition of When I Kissed the Teacher during her valedictorian speech. Unsure what to do with her life, she sets off to explore Europe, first meeting the shy but ‘spontaneous’ Harry (Hugh Skinner) in Paris; heading off to Greece, where the impossibly blond-and-blue-eyed Bill (Josh Dylan) gives her a ride on his boat (and in his bunk); and soon after falling in love with the crumbling farmhouse that will become her home, she meets Sam (Jeremy Irvine) who sweeps her off her feet only to break her heart soon after.

Brings the background story to vivid life, including a plot development which is completely unexpected

The film seamlessly flashes back and forward from Donna’s summer of love to the present, a few years after the original film’s timeframe, where works are under way to finally realise Donna’s (Meryl Streep) dream of turning her taverna into a hotel.

Sophie is realising that love does not necessarily last forever as her relationship with Sky (Dominic Cooper) hits a rocky patch, but she has her dads (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard), Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) to rely on as they turn up for the hotel’s opening.

The veteran cast effortlessly slip back into their roles – the banter between Walters and Baranski remains as funny and acerbic as before. The three men are still dutiful fathers, and thank the gods of music that Brosnan’s singing is kept to a bare minimum. For me, it’s the only bum note – pun very much intended – of the first film.

Streep is as radiant as ever. Yet, she graciously steps aside to let James and Seyfried step into the spotlight, the former easily channelling the fun-loving, vulnerable, yet strong and independent sides of Donna; the latter projecting a young woman a few years older and wiser than when we last met her. Both easily carry the singing chops needed for their parts.

In a case of blatant stunt casting, Cher turns up as Donna’s mother. It’s a small part, but she has fun with it, dropping some zingers, and she gets to sing Fernando – as a result, it must be said, of the movie’s most contrived plot device. 

The musical numbers that pepper proceedings and propel the plot along boast the infectious joie-de-vivre of its predecessor, with some glorious choreography ratcheting up the toe-tapping levels to dancing queen heights.

So, nothing terribly profound or complex. However, the sunny, summery confection of the plot does provide a soupçon of drama and sadness, and it does pull at the heartstrings rather shamelessly towards the end. But it’s impossible to quibble with a film that does not pretend to be anything other than it is and offers some heart-warming and goofy, escapist fun along the way.

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