Rumor has always had it that if your relationship is on the outs, a trip to Greece might be the magical cure to save the romance. Add in the anticipation of Mama Mia! Here We Go Again –the pumped-up sequel of the 2008 original – and apparently real-life-travel-inquiries are on the rise. (You should probably know the movie was filmed on Vis, a Croatian Island, nota Greek one.)
Nevertheless, this is just what the doctor ordered for us down-in-the-dumps-Americans lacking in happy, ‘real’ news. With feel-good song, dance, laughter and happy tears, Mama Mia equals love-bug infection and then some. Because like it or not, you’re going to love this addictive little film.
It’s 1979 when the story opens in dismal, Oxford, England, about as far away from luscious and exotic Greece as one can imagine. Donna (Meryl Streep) is portrayed in a prequel as young Donna (Lily James) who leads a girl group – Donna and the Dynamos – with her two best friends, Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) and Rosie (Alexa Davies.) It’s Donna’s life pre-Grecian innkeeper. Young Donna’s charismatic rendition of the lesser known Abba song, “When I Kissed the Tiger” is performed with such Broadway appeal it makes us hope the rest of the past-clunky Mama Mia! singers – remember Pierce Brosnan singing “S.O.S.?” – can stand up to the task.
They do… thanks to Director, Ol Parker’s vivid showgirl array of color and style.
But being Oxford and all, Donna’s shake-up performance plays well against the stuffy-stiff-upper-lip professors. (Ironically the professors in the scene are from the original 1999 West End production of Mamma Mia!) Donna and crew strip down from graduation gowns to reveal bell-bottoms and platform boots, suggesting the disco days of the era.
In a time of worldly politics this is simply uncomplicated. What you see is what you get. And what you get is pretty darn sweet. The story’s strong point is its journey-back-in-time, and always with the required Abba soundtrack to raise our spirits. Albeit as cheesy as can be expected, it diverts into four sub-plot…that if you can sing the lyrics by heart, you can probably predict the outcome. And of course, with a screenplay by Richard Curtis you can’t expect anything short of big-red-ribboned-tied-up-storylines as he did in Love, Actually.
Returning are the original cast – Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, and Christine Baranski – with the introduction of Cher as the grandmother. Streep and Cher reunite for the first time on screen since 1985 when they starred in Silkwood. Cher’s grand dame entrance takes place towards the end, and she’s looking more like Lady Gaga circa 2040, but that’s okay – she’s Cher – and we long to hear her take-charge performance of “Fernando.”
It should be noted that Streep is barely in the movie because she’s died. Yet in her spiritual way she’s all around, and when a significant scene happens, prepare to grab the tissue-substituting-napkin from your popcorn.
This is Amanda Seyfried’s film, who in this sequel has matured into a vintage Peggy Lipton kind-of-way. She meets young Harry (Hugh Skinner) in Paris, falls for Bill (Josh Dylan) at sea, and is whisked away by Sam (Jeremy Irvine) in a storm. Of course the men grow up to be Brosnan, Firth and company. And why shouldn’t she be whisked away? She’s pretty, she’s alive, and we can all relate to the reckless abandonment of young love.
In the end, it’s pure sentimental female fun hidden in a longing for our Mothers. And our Mother’s memories. But most important, yippee!… they sing “Dancing Queen” so Oscar-caliber-film or not, all is forgiven. 3 tiaras