A decade ago, a stage musical leapt to the big screen and showed the world that passion for ABBA had only increased over the years since the band stopped producing music and toured. Mamma Mia landed in 2008 and became an international sensation utilizing the iconic Swedish band’s music as the soundtrack that enhanced the narrative of the script.
Ten years later, fans of Mamma Mia get a sequel and dare we say, it’s even better and more enjoyable and more musically masterful than the first one! This time we get to go back and go forward with the story. It is simultaneously a sequel and a prequel. The most unique of movie musicals!
Donna (Meryl Streep as the modern version and Lily James as her 1979 counterpart) is a free-spirit—and that is putting it mildly. One fateful summer, she met three men and they each would have a love connection that would resonate throughout her entire life. In fact, it would produce a child, Sophie (the angelic Amanda Seyfried). She is about to re-open her mother’s Greek island Hotel Bella Donna as nerves, anxieties and apprehension abound. To support her, her “three dads” show up to help—Pierce Brosnan’s Sam, Colin Firth’s Harry, and Stellan Skarsgård’s Bill.
Joining them are Donna’s longtime BFFs, Julie Walter’s Rosie and Christine Baranski’s Tanya. Connecting with Sophie, they impart the story as to how her mother met her three dads from back in the day, as well as the way she tackled welcoming a child into the world all alone with supreme confidence and strength.
The casting is sublime of the 1979 crew, led by Lily James, who dazzles as young Donna, Alexa Davies’s Young Rosie and Jessica Keenan Wynn’s young Tanya. Then, there are the dashing dudes—Hugh Skinner as Young Harry, Josh Dylan as Young Bill and Jeremy Irvine as Young Sam.
The way that director Ol Parker (who also wrote the screenplay) interweaves past and present is as beautiful and sonically succulent as one of ABBA’s songs. The film grabs the viewer from the first moments and never let’s go. Parker has a talent for mixing a movie musical sensibility with the innate need for a drama to drive the plot and cull emotions from the viewer. He achieves both arenas with class and pitch perfect panache.
The ensemble’s strength is only enhanced by the addition of Andy Garcia as Fernando Cienfuegos, a man who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Hotel Bella Donna. Then, there’s the seismic arrival of Cher as Sophie’s grandmother Ruby Sheridan. It is an all-star cast where each member of the ensemble gets to shine, sing and be given their cinematic due.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again also achieves something else extraordinary. The first film utilized what is basically a greatest hits list of ABBA’s tracks as it told the story. What songs were left to be used in a sequel? Well, that question is answered as powerfully as a 1,000-person operatic choir with songs some may know and a few that may be a mystery. It doesn’t matter one’s familiarity with these tracks. The each represent the Swedish band’s mastery of the musical menagerie. It is sensational. That is why I was so taken with the edition that Universal Home Video sent for me to review was the Sing-along version. Warn your neighbors, things are about to get loud and enlightened!
This entire passionate effort started as a brainchild of Judy Craymer and of course ABBA’s founders, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The Story is a fantastic featurette that shines the light on Craymer and gives us some fascinating information about the making of this franchise. A perfect follow-up for that bonus feature has to be Mamma Mia! Reunited which takes viewers on the 10-year journey to bring Mamma Mia a follow-up for those millions of fans who never dreamed they could be so lucky as to actually get one.
As I spoke earlier, the casting of the 1979 cast and the modern cast is bloody brilliant. Playing Donna is an excellent, albeit too short, look at James and Streep chatting and how each approached the role. If that featurette finds James shining a spotlight on her hero, Streep, then Sophie’s Story does the same with the cast extoling the virtues of Seyfried. It is delightful.
Meeting Cher gives us a look at what it was like when an icon landed on set and several cast members discuss her impact on the production. The best part… when Streep delivers a spot-on Cher impression!
Capturing the look of the seventies is done in such a way that not only adds to the feel of the film, but finds the actors putting the final touches on their characters once they don those costumes. Costumes and the Dynamos looks at how that was achieved and is downright inspiring.
If you thought that costumes were divine, the dance sequences are mind-blowing. Choreographing Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again gives us a terrific look at the master behind the moves, Anthony Van Laast. It is mesmerizing what he is able to achieve with a cast comprised of professional dancers and novices alike.
The “Cast Meets Cast” section is equally enjoyable as it is hilarious. Tanya Meets Tanya and Rosie Meets Rosie finds Baranski and Wynn, as well as Walters and Davies, getting together and yes, the sparks fly.
There was a deleted song that was cut from the movie, I Wonder, and it is delightful added to the bonus features. What else is divine is extended song performances of The Name of the Game, Knowing Me, Knowing You.
As this is the sing-along version, the enhanced sing alongs include 46-minutes-plus of some phenomenal moments from the movie, including Thank You For the Music, When I Kissed the Teacher, One of Us, Waterloo, S.O.S, Why Did It Have to be Me? and I Have a Dream.
A couple of scenes that were downright remarkable get the bonus featurette look that are dazzling. We cannot get enough of Curtain Call which is the stunning Super Trouper close of the film that finds the casts (both 1979 and present) getting together for one stellar singing sensation.
If anyone wonders how Parker achieved that sensational Dancing Queen number in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, you do not want to miss Dancing Queen: Anatomy of a Scene.
The Dynamo Chit-Chat is a too-short featurette that finds the three “young” Dynamos talking about working together and the honor that is joining the world of Mamma Mia. Dad Chat puts the three “young” dads together and even out of character, one can see why these guys were perfect to play Brosnan, Firth and Skarsgard.
Performing for Legends is also a joy as it showcases the cast extoling their passion for performing the numbers for the group that inspired the entire movie sensation, ABBA.
There are two feature commentaries, and each has their own benefits. Perhaps over the years one can witness both. But, if we had to recommend one to start with, it would be the one with Craymer. Her insight into what makes the entity that is Mamma Mia work is nothing less than brilliant.
Film grade: A-
Bonus features: A+