Set five years after the original film, Mamma
Mia: Here We Go Again (I'm calling it MM2 from her on) begins on the
eve of the grand re-opening of the hotel from the first movie, only Sophie
(Amanda Seyfried) is now in charge. Just so you aren't caught off guard like I
was, they establish early on that Donna (Meryl Streep) has died. Thanks to a
flashback structure though, she does have a presence in the film. Sophie's
trials and tribulations leading up to the re-opening are intercut to flashbacks
of a young Donna (Lily James), covering how she went from her school (in
England, I believe) to the island in Greece. It also covers how she met the
three men who would become Sophie's fathers. The two-story structure lacks the
great pitch of the first movie, but it does feature an impressive bit of
reverse-engineering, as the flashbacks adhere closely to Donna's journal
entries in the first movie. It's not always the most comfortable fit, but they
mostly make it work.
It's best to talk about the two halves separately,
because, while both are fan service, they work in different ways. The half set
in the present day is all about bringing the character we love back. Seyfried
is more adult now. The same goes for Dominic Cooper as her now husband. The
three fathers (Piece Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth) are almost
unnervingly nice. It was weird (in a good way) how well they got along in the
first movie and that carries over. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters get
even more to do with Streep's diminished role, and thank god for them. These
people are are delightful. Then add Andy Garcia as Sophie's suave hotel manager
and Cher as Sophie's grandmother (it was spoiled in all the trailers). This is
certainly servicing the "Here We Go Again" part of the title.
As for the flashbacks (the "Mamma Mia" of
the title), they are entirely driven by how charming Lily James is and how well
they cast younger versions of all the characters. I haven't seen much of James
(just Cinderella,
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,
Darkest Hour,
and Baby Driver,
I think). I've always liked her. Nothing she's done has relied this much on her
charm. You totally get why seemingly everyone Donna meets would love her. I got
a lot of Lorelei Gilmore vibes from her. She just doesn't know how to it off;
it being whatever that light inside her is. I couldn't name any of the other
actors playing the younger versions of characters. They were cast for how well they
imitated younger versions of the actors. In that respect, they are a success.
There is something inescapably disposable about MM2.
It is 100% in service of the first movie and its fans. The story bends over
backwards to work around what was established in the first movie. It's hard as
hell to make a band's song catalog work for one coherent musical story. Making
it work for a second is damn near impossible. And, as good as ABBA is, the pool
of great songs is only so deep. As a result, MM2 double dips many of
the songs from the first movie. There are a few new songs - I was pleased to
hear "Fernando" show up - but a lot of the movie is just alternate
versions of the same songs.
I want to make something clear though. Despite how
little I needed this movie as a sequel or something that could stand on its
own, I had an absolute blast watching it. I like the ABBA music. Everyone in
the cast can sing (or tried not to call attention to their limitations). The
different song and dance numbers are simple but lively. Everyone seems to be
having a lot of fun. I don't get the sense that anyone was hesitant to return
to this playground for another go. Movies that put you in a good mood don't get
enough praise for being able to do that. MM2 isn't a sequel that's trying
to do anything new or different. It's a celebration of everything you liked
about the first movie and little more. My, my. How can I resist that?
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
After the Credits:
What the hell is going on with the ages in this
movie?
Amanda Seyfried was 22 playing 20 in the first
movie. Now she's 32 playing 25.
Presumably, the now almost 40 Dominic Cooper isn't
supposed to be any older than 30.
Let's say that in the flashbacks, Donna was
graduating college. It looked more like high school, but whatever. That makes
29 year-old Lily James 22 in the movie. MM2 is set 25 years later making
Donna 47 (Meryl Streep is 69). That also makes Meryl 59 and Donna 42 in the
first movie.
Cher is an age-appropriate 72 years old, but she's
supposed to be Donna's mother despite being only 3 years older than Streep.
Cher becomes romantically linked with Andy Garcia
(62). Him being 10 years younger than her is fine (and makes sense for her
character).
It's is a little confusing though, when you consider
that two of Sophie's three fathers are older than Garcia (Skarsgard - 67,
Brosnan - 65). Firth was a more age-appropriate 47 at the time of the first
movie but seems too old at 57 now.
Baranski (66) and Walters (68) make sense as
contemporaries of Steep's but are just as wrong for the ages of their
characters.
At the end of the day, I don't care that much
because everyone plays the roles so well. I just can't think of a movie with as
little consideration for the stated ages of the characters as this.
I mean, why set this 5 years later? Why not the 10
that it's actually been? They could get away with even longer, really. Is
connecting Sophie's age when she gets pregnant to Donna's pregnancy age really
that important? Mind you, those ages don't even match up and didn't add up in
2008 either.
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