Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again: A merry summer romp

Donna has died. So moviegoers will not get to see much of Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel and prequel, too, of Mamma Mia! The Movie, the blockbuster motion picture adaptation of the stage musical, which makes use of the timeless music of the Scandinavian supergroup ABBA. 

Meryl does get to do one ABBA song though, The Day Before You Came. I like it when Meryl sings. She has this effortless grace that transfixes the listener. No regrets though at not having her around longer. Donna is still the star of the story as all the events and the meeting of characters emanate from choices she made years ago.

Before we get to that, there is something I want to get out of the way. To save you the trouble of having to check and check on who is this young version of a character and then another and another, I will break down the cast of the picture. You see, being both a sequel and a prequel Here We Go Again has a cast of actors playing the younger selves of the characters in the original. So here goes and I hope I get all of them right.

Lily James, star of Baby Driver, Cinderella and Downton Abbey, is the young Donna. Amanda Seyfried is back as Donna’s daughter Sophie. So is Dominic Cooper is back as her fiancé Sky. Then there are the three possible fathers Pierce Brosnan as Sam and Jeremy Irvine as the young version; Colin Firth and Hugh Skinner as Harry; and Stellan Skarsgard and Josh Dylan as Bill.

Playing the members of Donna’s group, The Dynamos, are Christine Baranski and Jessica Keenan Wynn as Tanya and Julie Waters and Alexa Davies as Rosie. Newcomers to the fun romp are Latin American star Andy Garcia as Fernando, who is a close friend of Donna’s mother Ruby, who is played by the Academy Award-winning actress and pop star Cher. She sings the ABBA classic Fernando with Garcia and this duet alone is already worth the price of the admission.

I believe it is also more than enough to put to rest complaints that the Here We Go Again soundtrack has lesser-known ABBA songs. But those are still bubbly ABBA tunes, which more than 40 years later retain an incomparable sparkle. I know the first Mamma Mia! spoiled us with the vast quantity of big hits, but we have enjoyed watching musicals with unfamiliar songs. Think The Greatest Showman and Frozen. So think of the unfamiliar ABBA songs as new works for the soundtrack and with the lush arrangements and simple sing-along vibe, I am sure you will be humming them when you leave the theater.

Here We Go Again’s primary focus is on Sophie who has built a hotel in the Greek island of Kalokairi and wants to launch it with much fanfare. Everybody shows up to give her a boost and the stage is set for what may well be the most entertaining movie for the summer of 2018. Cleverly woven around this is Donna’s story. Her days as lead singer of The Dynamos, meeting the three men, one of whom may be Sophie’s father and coming to the island. All of these are, of course, told with the music of ABBA.

As a film, Here We Go Again wants for nothing. Instead of being encumbered by all those flashbacks, it has a witty, first-rate script by O1 Parker who also directed it. The choreography is so vibrant. You would feel like dancing on your seat. And the photography is simply gorgeous. It makes you want to head off to that island and frolic on the beach forever. Aside from here, I will tell you because I checked and got an answer. The movie was shot in Croatia, which I heard has fantastic beaches.

 And familiar or not, there is no way one cannot enjoy the ABBA soundtrack. Some of the big ones get a reprise. Waterloo, I Have A Dream, Knowing Me Knowing You, Dancing Queen, Super Trouper and Mamma Mia. The ones to discover now and enjoy in the now also available soundtrack album are When I Kissed The Teacher, I Wonder, One Of Us, Why Did It Have To Be Me? Kisses of Fire, Andante Andante, The Name Of The Game, Angel Eyes, I’ve Been Waiting For You, My Love My Life and Meryl’s song The Day Before You Came.

Strange me likes his When All Is Said And Done number in the first Mamma Mia! but those of you worried about Pierce singing can relax. He only gets two lines to sing solo and everybody else in the cast can truly sing. 

Do not miss out on this one.