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There are two types of people who will go to see Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! Both were in evidence at the press screening. On the steps of the Lighthouse Cinema, I overheard one critic confide, “I’m quite looking forward to this. Humming along, dancing in the aisles!”
His companion however, was less enthused. “Oh, yes, I can’t wait to see what Pierce Brosnan does this time.”
Honey, honey, if you’re going to see this movie for Pierce Brosnan, I really don’t know what to tell you. But if, like me, you’re more like the first critic, you’re going to have a wonderful time at this movie.
When we met Donna (Meryl Streep) and her extended family ten years ago, the story was in media res in a lot of ways. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) wanted to figure out whether her father was Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) or Harry (Colin Firth), so she invited them all to what was supposed to be her wedding to Sky (Dominic Cooper) — many musical numbers later, no one is any wiser as to who Sophie’s Dad is, but Donna and Sam are back together and everything ends well. ABBA’s music has always combined poppy brilliance with stories untold, and the first movie filled in just enough of the blanks with just enough plot to weave a new story from those old songs. Thank you for the music, as they say.
We return to the Greek islands five years after the events of the first film to find that Donna has passed away, and Sophie is working very hard to turn her mother’s Villa Donna into the world-class hotel that Donna always dreamed of. As Sophie tries to get the Grand Reopening gala together and deal with the arrival – and absence – of various family members, we flashback to the journey that brought a younger Donna (Lily James) to the island all those years ago, finally revealing just how she met Sophie’s three potential dads, played as younger men by Jeremy Irvine (Sam), Josh Dylan (Bill) and Hugh Skinner (Harry).
In one of those flashbacks, in a Napoleon-themed Parisian cafe, comes the most impressive dining room song-and-dance number since Beauty and the Beast’s “Be Our Guest”. Harry (Hugh Skinner, playing the younger version of Colin Firth’s character with mannerisms that combine that iconic Mr. Darcy with the actor’s own Matt Smith-ish charm) belts out ABBA’s ‘Waterloo’ to an astonished young Donna (Lily James). Key to this number is the observation that “the history book on the shelf / is always repeating itself.” In a lot of ways, that’s the crux of this combined prequel-sequel to 2008’s smash-hit Mamma Mia.
Young Donna’s journey parallels Sophie’s struggles, and for the story to unfold as it does, older Donna actually does need to be dead. Spoiler, though, if you’ve not looked at the soundtrack or seen the cast listings: Meryl does show up for one number and, yes, I cried. There’s a good deal more pathos this time around, and both of this movie’s timelines add further poignancy to the first film. This time around, the movie suffers a little from a score of B-list tracks (no matter how sweet, and ‘Andante, Andante’ really is very sweet) until about halfway through, at which point we start getting reprises of toe-tapping favourites such as ‘Dancing Queen’ and of course ‘Mamma Mia.’ But it’s okay, because this time, we’re revisiting old friends, and the movie understands that well.
Lily James portrays the younger Donna with effortless charm. Her considered Meryl Streep impression saves her character from becoming a broadly rendered stereotype of The Free Spirited White Girl On Her Gap Year. The younger versions of Julie Walters’ Rosie (Alexa Davies) and Christine Baranski’s Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) are less kindly treated by the narrative, which seems to suggest they’ve played second fiddle to Donna their whole lives. However, Keenan Wynn has a note-perfect Baranski impression that might’ve stolen the movie, had it not been for Cher. Amanda Seyfried’s plotline is considerably less fun than the flashbacks, but she anchors the story with as much sweetness as the last film and she really steps up to fill Streep’s dungarees.
How about the dads? Jeremy Irvine’s Sam sings far better than his older self, something that is perhaps acknowledged in the fact that Brosnan has far fewer musical turns this time around. Hugh Skinner’s Harry proves that as a young man his character could be spontaneous – one of his major hang-ups in the first film – although it doesn’t actually help him woo Donna. Josh Dylan’s Bill reminded me strongly of a young Heath Ledger at times – almost ironic given that in the original stage version of Mamma Mia! Bill was Australian rather than Swedish, as he became with the casting of Stellan Skarsgård.
The finale showstopper is the one major ABBA hit that wasn’t in the first film – Fernando. No matter how good anyone else is or how awkwardly obscure some of the songs are, Cher’s final act arrival as Donna’s absentee mother, Ruby, and her emotional reunion with lost love (Andy Garcia) — yes, that Fernando — was always destined to upstage everyone and everything. There are literal fireworks exploding behind their reunion.
Is it cheesy? Of course. Is it a wonderful escape from the never-ending madness that has been the news-cycle lately? Oh, yes. There are big dance numbers and small ones, and a lot of glitter and sunshine — and a few unexpected tears. It’s not a flawless masterpiece, but it is the most fun I’ve had at a movie in ages. When all is said and done, if you’re not tapping your foot and humming along by the time the end credits reprise ‘Super Trouper’ with every major character decked out in spandex and glitter? Well, then, you’re no Dancing Queen, my friend.
