Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

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Well it’s 5 years later and these jerks are ready to go again. I mean, it’s been 10 years since the last movie was released, but it’s been 5 movie years, and the gang’s all here, except not.

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) has refurbished her mother’s Greek hotel, finally. Too bad her husband Sky (no I cannot believe that’s his actual name) (Dominic Cooper) isn’t around to see it. Is there trouble in paradise?

No matter. She’s planning a huge party to unveil the new space. Everyone’s invited: the MV5BNzU2N2NkMDEtN2IxZS00NjQ3LWI5MGUtOTVmOGIzMjEwN2Y5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzk5MTY4MTU@._V1_three dads (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard), Mom’s best friends (Christine Baranski, Julie Walters) – even Grandma (Cher)! But because one party full of old people is pretty lame (could someone tell Sophie that?), the movie is 80% flashback. Meryl Streep’s character is now played by the lush and nubile Lily James, and we get to watch her have all the unprotected, close together sex with three different men (at least!) alluded to in the first movie, which resulted in all the daddy confusion.

If you liked the first movie, you’ll probably find it in your heart to like this one. If you like ABBA but not their overplayed radio hits, which all sound the same, you’re going to love this sequel, which contains all the songs that were too shitty to make the first cut, plus a couple of weak recreations of the title song, which they just can’t get enough of. Plus, who doesn’t love the spangly, bell-bottomed costumes that go along with it? This second movie is even more contrived than the first, amounting to a less satisfying story.  Basically, you’ve got a handful of unknown ABBA songs from deep in the back catalogue, and you’ve got to contort the script to make them fit (see ‘Waterloo’ for an excellent example of this).

Everyone else in the world has been swept away by the sheer joy of a second ABBA musical while I’m still not over the first. Call me grumpy cat – I don’t get the appeal.

10 thoughts on “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”

  1. Often Off Topic

    I was pretty much forced to watch the first one and felt pretty ‘meh’ about it. I’m not an ABBA fan either which didn’t help. I have no idea how I found myself in the cinema for the sequel (morbid curiosity?) but I found the whole movie so horrendously cheesy that I actually kind of enjoyed it…shame on me!

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  2. Birgit

    Oh boy…I am a huge ABBA fan and wanted to go to the Voulez-Vous cencert but my mom wouldn’t allow it because there might be drugs there (I just looked at her blankly and said “But it’s ABBA.” My brother could go to see The Who and Rolling Stones). I enjoyed the first one very much even though meryl couldn’t sing all that well…compare her to the wonderful Christine Baranski and never mind about poor Pierce Brosnan who is a horrible singer and he knows it. I love Fernando, Waterloo (unsure how that can make it in) plus all the other great songs they did. See me gush. I am certain this movie is not as good as the first but I will see it and probably enjoy it.

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  4. bessclef

    I enjoyed the first movie. There’s always a part of me that likes corny movies. I haven’t seen the second one. I’m suspicious of sequels because they tend to be shit.

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    1. Jay Post author

      I think we have become incapable of leaving anything alone. So many mediocre movies get sequels now – they’d rather replicated mediocrity than take risks on something new.

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