Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is never able to capture the effortless fun of the first film, and instead feels artificial and forced.
Set five years after Mamma Mia!, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is working hard to prepare for the grand reopening of her mother’s hotel. During this, she discovers that she is pregnant and thinks of how her mother, Donna (originally played by Meryl Streep) must have felt when she was pregnant with Sophie. The film also shows the younger Donna (Lily James) as she meets Sophie’s three potential fathers.
Overall, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is an incredibly disappointing follow-up to the first film. It is unable to recapture to the magic of Mamma Mia! and instead feels more like a lower tier Disney Channel Original Movie. However, while it is disappointing there are still some humorous moments and the appearance of the beloved characters is still heart-warming in its familiarity.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again does not really need to exist. While Mamma Mia! had a clever premise, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again just feels tired. There is barely even a story in Sophie’s timeline.
Further, it is incredibly tedious in this timeline, for a large portion of the movie, until characters such as Tanya (Christine Baranski), Rosie (Julie Walters), Harry (Colin Firth), and Bill (Stella Skarsgård) enter the story. However, none of them play a relevant role in the story and serve more just as decorations.
Donna’s storyline should have been much more interesting, as it is about how she met Harry, Bill, and Sam. Unfortunately, the mystery of how she met them is more interesting than the reality.
The stories of how she met the three are so disappointing that it almost even retroactively ruins the first film. While all three of the younger actors are lively and engaging, their characters’ stories are not. All three characters feel excessively shallow, making the overall story feel disingenuous.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again seems to illustrate that Mamma Mia! used all of ABBA’s best songs. While Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again reuses many of the same songs that are used in the first film, the additional songs are fairly forgettable.
Mamma Mia! managed to naturally fit ABBA’s songs into the story, creating a suspension of disbelief to the diegetic nature of the music. However, the songs feel so forced into Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again that it feels grating sometimes when characters burst into song. The choreography is visually engaging, especially in that the film is not tied only to the hotel and its surrounding area. Unfortunately, some of these songs feel so unnatural and uncomfortable to the extent that the movie can feel like it is disrespecting the musical genre.
There are some genuinely humorous moments, most from the familiar characters but also from a couple of new characters. Many new characters, who thankfully do not have too much screen time, are obnoxious caricatures who ruin the general flow of the story. Not every joke lands, but the film still manages to maintain a general sense of fun.
Lily James does an excellent job as young Donna. While the character is not given a lot of depth, James gives the role an incredible energy showing an immense amount of commitment to the role and the exaggerated world.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again does not live up to its predecessor. However, it still manages to provide a wonderful positivity. Despite the film’s many flaws, the cast’s dedication allows the film to be continuously fun.
Grade: C+
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