Double Movie Review :: It’s back to Greece with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Universal Pictures

WARNING: This review contains a potentially big spoiler.

It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since we last visited the Greek isle where Donna Sheridan had decided to settle, raise her daughter and open a little taverna on a hill as a single mother, never revealing the facts of her daughter’s conception or the identity of the father, which turned out to be one of three men whom Sophie adopted as her three fathers, while calling off the wedding to her fiancé Sky so the two could just live and enjoy life.

Now times have changed in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Sophie is back on the island helping to rehab the taverna and open it as a hotel (hopefully for wealthy guests) while trying to save her relationship with Sky who is in New York considering a job offer that may eventually split them apart. One of Sophie’s dads, Sam, is also on the island, the architect of the new building, and Donna’s besties Tanya and Rosie are on the way for the opening. Unfortunately Bill and Harry, the other two dads, are tied up and unable to attend. While all of this activity is swirling, bits and pieces of Donna’s past, her origin story as it were, unfolds showing her graduation, arrival in Greece, the meeting of Harry, Sam and Bill and what made her decide to finally settle on the island. And now for the spoiler — all of this is happening because Donna is dead. As one setback after another causes Sophie to doubt herself, the question is will she be able to get the place open to honor her mother? And the arrival of an uninvited Grandmother complicates matters even further.

So how is Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again? Hotchka’s Chuck Duncan and Justin Moore share their thoughts on the movie.

Chuck: I can’t say I was a big fan of the first movie. It was … okay but nothing great. I enjoyed more for the music than anything else. And with this movie, I think I actually enjoyed the story more than the music. Not that there was anything wrong with the songs, some of which were used in the first movie now in a different context and other ABBA songs that are less well-known are in the mix, but the performance of those songs was a bit flat. But I still found the movie as a whole mildly entertaining, but it’s not the uplifting, joyful, summer movie the ads would have you believe. I found it quite melancholy with not only Donna’s death hovering over the whole thing, but the potential end of Sophie and Sky’s relationship as well. But that plot point gave us one of the best musical numbers in the movie set to ‘One of Us’ with Sophie and Sky a half a world apart but still together through some really clever camera tricks, sets and editing. The other highlight, and the most emotionally moving scene in the movie, comes all the way at the end with the song ‘My Love, My Life’ … but I won’t spoil the reason for the emotion. Just have some tissues or napkins ready.

Justin: I was fan of the first movie. I saw it ten years ago for the first time and I will always remember feeling complete joy as I watched Donna sing ‘Dancing Queen’. It’s a film that has made me happy throughout the years as I’ve watched it plenty of times. My thoughts for the first film is that it’s a fun, upbeat movie filled with popular ABBA songs. I would agree with you Chuck, I enjoyed the story more than the music this time around. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again took lesser known, more personal ABBA songs and plugged them in nicely to the story. I was able to connect more with Donna and Sophie this time around because the movie wasn’t constantly playing an ABBA song. The movie spaced out their songs smartly and it allowed for the characters to tell the story instead of the songs. I would agree with you Chuck that the song ‘My Love, My Life’ was a highlight of the film and an emotional moment too. I almost had to awkwardly ask the person sitting next to me for a tissue! It tied to the two movies together nicely.

Chuck: Yeah, that was a real gut punch. I was trying not to audibly sob. But it’s not all sorrow though. There are some fun moments when they trot out ‘Dancing Queen’ again, and a very silly (and a little too obvious) rendition of ‘Waterloo’ set in a French cafe with a staff dressed like Napoleon and his soldiers. I also liked the addition of the mysterious character played by Andy Garcia who is helping Sophie get things prepared for the opening. We never know his first name until Grandma Ruby arrives and she gets to sing … well, I won’t spoil that either but if you know any ABBA songs you can probably figure it out. It’s just weird hearing Cher sing an ABBA song. It’s a shame she had to be the ‘estranged’ mother/grandmother because the movie could have used a lot more of her than the seven minutes or so she’s on screen.

Justin: I much prefer the performance of ‘Dancing Queen’ in this movie than the first one. It was grand and the look on everyone’s faces showed that they were having a blast filming that scene. Also, it was hilarious to see Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth dance together. Now for the ‘Waterloo’ musical number, that was a little corny but it played out nicely. I also wish there was more of Cher! She has a great voice and the ABBA song that she sang (also won’t spoil it for anyone) came at the right time for the story.

Chuck: Yes, we can all use more Cher! Of the rest of the cast, Amanda Seyfried doesn’t get much to do but fret about all that’s going wrong and then she gets her own little plot twist on top of it all, but she has the loveliest voice of the entire cast. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are the comedy relief and they do help lighten up the movie. Pierce Brosnan’s Sam is as depressed as Sophie about Donna, but thankfully he just gets to whisper-sing a few lines of ‘S.O.S.’ and then only sings as part of a large group after that, his voice pretty much drowned out by everyone else.

Lily James is pretty great as the young Donna, carefree to a fault and really the central point of the movie around which everything else revolves. There are just two problems I had with her: she sings the bulk of the film’s songs and her voice is passable but not remarkable. I just found her singing to be a bit bland. The other issue is I can’t suspend disbelief far enough to see her aging into Meryl Streep. Unfortunately, that also goes for Jeremy Irvine as young Sam (he’s cute but looks nothing like Pierce Brosnan) and Hugh Skinner who definitely looks nothing like young Colin Firth. Josh Dylan, though, could pass as a young Stellan Skarsgård (you’d think he was Alexander’s and Bill’s brother). They all give nice performances and also have fine voices. Now Jessica Keenan Wynn could definitely pass for a young Christine Baranski and she does a fine job. She tries a little too hard to get Baranski down to where it becomes an impression instead of a performance, but she’s got the look. Alexa Davies was also good as the young Rosie.

Justin: Lily James was absolutely perfect in her role as young Donna. She was full of energy and perfectly captured what made older Donna so likable. They exploration of Donna’s relationship with the three men felt a bit inconsistent. Even though Lily James participated in a full song with Hugh Skinner (younger Colin Firth), their relationship felt the weakest as they only spent one day together. Hugh Skinner did look a lot like Colin Firth, but I found his performance to be rather stiff. Donna’s relationship with Sam was the strong point of the movie, rightly so as they got engaged at the end of the first film. Jessica Keenan Wynn’s performance did come off more like an impression of Christine Baranski but still enjoyable. I think Carly Rae Jespen would have been a perfect fit.

Chuck: The movie is very well constructed with the past and present scenes flowing smoothly one into the other and it looks great too. It’s interesting to see Donna’s story, which we already knew from the first movie, fleshed out. But I just wish it had been the joyful, musical event of the summer as the ads promise. It waits until the very end to really raise our spirits with an odd sort of curtain call that would work on stage but is a bit jarring in screen when the entire cast, past and present, converges for one last song as the credits roll (and then you really get to see how unalike some the actors and their counterparts are — and Colin Firth steals the whole thing with a bit of subdued comedy as the younger actor cavorts around him).

Justin: I also wish there was more upbeat songs to make it the joyful, musical event of the summer, but I think it was smart to play it differently. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again showed growth and maturity in telling its story. It wasn’t quite the same musical as the first one. It was more emotional and I appreciated that because it allowed for the film to flesh out the characteristics of young Donna and her friends.

Chuck: It’s interesting that you point out the more emotional aspect of this movie. I recently saw a local stage production of Mamma Mia! that was just packed with emotion and I just loved it so much more than the first movie. And those are the parts of this movie that worked best, like that final scene and the ‘One of Us’ number. I just wanted a little more joy overall. But I’d say if you’re a fan of Mamma Mia! you’ll love Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. If you didn’t like the original, you’ll probably be hard-pressed to find much to like about the sequel/prequel (yes, it’s two movies in one!). If you’re on the fence about it and just want to see Cher, hit the matinee.

And Justin has more to say about Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Check out his video review!