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Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again
***
Dir: Oliver Parker
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Lily James
(USA, PG, 1hr 54 mins)
Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again was everything I hoped, dreamed and dreaded it would be – a glorious and glittering package of camp slap-stick pleasure.
Still Meryl Streep’s highest grossing film, the original Mamma Mia was an instant box office success making over $600 million worldwide. Going into this sequel, there are many questions, mainly about how director Oliver Parker would build upon a much-loved tale, which arguably was rounded off quite nicely in the first film. We’re greeted in the initial sequences with the harrowing news that it’s been a year since the death of Donna (Streep), leaving a mourning Sophie (Seyfried) re-launching her mother’s hotel in memorial. The plot swaps between the past, where we see how it it came to be a young Donna became impregnated by three possible baby daddyies and a somewhat less interesting present day, where Seyfried pines over her absent fiancé, whilst simultaneously planning the picturesque hotel’s opening.
The film is absurd, that much is true. in addition to being laden with plot holes one could drive a boat through. Nevertheless, for the most part it does work, mostly due to the timelessness of ABBA’s music. During the scenes set in Donna’s past the young cast were excellent and a credit to themselves for their intelligent delivery. Lily James slipped into the role of young Donna with ease, her reams of youthful energy and gorgeous voice leaving me both wanting to be her and wanting to obtain every piece of fabulous 70’s clothing she wore in that darn film. Equally the other two-thirds of the young trio, young Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) and young Rosie (Alexa Davies) were suitably as crude and hilarious as the audience would expect, with their present-day counter parts, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters, once again solidifying their living legend status. In fact, there are few criticisms for the cast and their vocals throughout the film, which were overall pretty okay. However, Barbara Streisand’s dog may not hold that view, considering it was rumoured that during a private screening it bit Pierce Brosnan at the mere sound of his singing.
One of the few drawbacks of the films was it occasionally took itself too seriously. We were there to hear some banging tunes and terrible jokes, not see our beloved Colin Firth and Julie Walters deal with the death of Meryl Streep. However, any melancholy felt during the second half is quickly rectified by the last-minute arrival of Cher as estranged grandmother Ruby. A perfectly ridiculous finale of Super Trouper involving all the new and old cast members dancing together sums up the film well, undeniably terrible yet terrific.
In reality the second instalment of Mamma Mia will not change the mind of any naysayers, but for the fans it’s another quite enjoyable whirlwind.
words Mel Lynch
Out now in cinemas