Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again - A snazzy, sentimental singing adventure 💙

Hello Internet!

I hope you are doing well wherever you are in the world today 🌏

First of all, hey look at me posting again so soon 😮 Who's surprised? *Raises hand 🙋* I wouldn't get used to this though, I'm not sure how long this will last 🙈.

Anyway, getting onto today's post. This week I have a movie review for y'all 🎬

ABBA's always been a fave classic band for me, and one of my favourite musical films growing up was Mamma Mia. I bloody loved that movie 😍 So I was super, duper freaking excited when the news dropped about a sequel.

Now it's finally here 😁! I was so excited that I saw it the day it came out in Australia (19th July).

I've been sitting on this review for a few weeks, and now I'm going to share it with the Internet:

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again was a fun-loving, sweet and wholesome sequel to Mamma Mia, 10 years after the ABBA-fuelled musical romantic comedy first burst onto the silver screen.

I think the people expecting the dramatic, hit-filled spectacle of the first film are going to be disappointed. Here We Go Again was perhaps more subdued, but it still had moments of energetic and extravagant dance numbers. I would attribute this to how the vibes were completely different. The characters are in completely different places in their lives this time around. It’s a development and evolution of the family and the relationships that we fell in love with in the first place. That’s the purpose of a sequel. But I loved the direction the creative team chose to go in, and the film is an extremely enjoyable musical experience.

As a second film in the franchise, the format of a prequel/sequel hybrid was a curious narrative direction. The parallels of the two timelines served to drive the emotional connection between the generations and the arguably complicated family. I had doubts about whether it was going to be clunked and complicated to follow, but in the end it was strongly executed and full of expressive depth.

In the prequel narrative, we are transported back to 1979 as a young Donna Sheridan has graduated from Oxford and is ready for the adventure of exploring Europe. As she weaves her way from Paris to Greece, she meets Harry, Bill and Sam – the three candidates we know to eventually be the potential fathers of her daughter. Through her determination and heartbreak, Donna remains resilient in her desire to stay on the picturesque island of Kalokairi and take on her pregnancy all by herself.

Lily James absolutely shined as young Donna, capturing the essence of the supermum Donna pioneered. She brought a unique, refreshing and carefree spirit that is vibrant and magnetic on screen.

Meanwhile in the sequel narrative, five years has passed and Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is busy planning the launch of her new boutique hotel in the Greek Islands. Herself and other returning characters from the first film are still adjusting to their lives without their ‘dancing queen’ Donna, whilst trying to support Sophie in her endeavour to fulfill her mother’s dream.

If you only know ABBA’s greatest hits, then you also might be disappointed by the soundtrack. ‘Fernando’ and ‘Waterloo’ are the only new hits to be woven into this narrative; alongside returning numbers Dancing Queen, I Have A Dream and Mamma Mia. But it would seem that songs from ABBA’s B and C teams got a chance to shine in Here We Go Again.

This was also a consequence of choosing to go down a different, and potentially riskier, musical avenue. When ABBA weren’t cranking out hits, they were clearly vivid storytellers and proved to be experts in songs of sorrow. Alongside dealing with varying levels of emotional stuff, songs like ‘One of Us’, ‘Andante Andante’, ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’ and ‘My Love My Life’ provided some lovely medium tempo love song moments.

A combination of generations, young and old. Source: mammamiamovie.com

But don’t worry, your catchy, bubbly numbers still showed up to the party. The film opened with a bright and cheeky rendition of ‘When I Kissed The Teacher’ from young Donna and the Dynamo's at their university graduation.  ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ also had great energy, and closer ‘Super Trouper’ brought some amazing disco costumes too.

The rest of the soundtrack tended to fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

Of the new songs, ‘Angel Eyes’ was probably my favourite. I’m completely obsessed, and cannot stop listening to it! Christine Baranski and Julie Walters smashed it once again, and Amanda Seyfried’s lovesick sweetness was quite endearing. Of the returning songs, ‘Dancing Queen’ was so much fun and the whole cast looked like they were having the best time ever.

Perhaps the most underrated duo in this franchise are the darling Dynamo’s Tanya and Rosie. Hilariously full of spunk and panache in the young timeline, Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies had excellent chemistry and complimented James’ energy wonderfully. Equally classy and chock full of their lovable comradery in the sequel timeline, Baranski and Walters were wonderful once again.

Although Meryl Streep’s Donna was notably absent, she still holds a claim for being the emotional centre of this film. We see her explore and struggle as a young woman trying to find where she belongs, and we also see the legacy she left in terms of the love and family she left behind. Despite its melancholic tendencies, there is so much heart and warmth woven into this next chapter.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again was an emotional and energetic sequel that captured the essence of love, family and all things ABBA!

★☆★☆★☆★

So there we go, I hope you enjoyed that review. Truthfully, I hadn't written a movie review before this one in months and I thought I was fully blocked. So this was an achievement 🙆

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Thanks for reading,

Love and dancing queens, Emily xx 🎼