Why Mamma Mia 2 Is A Summer Hit You Can’t Miss
10 years after the release of Mamma Mia the movie, the producers decided to give it another whirl and released the back story of the first film. Mamma Mia 2 ‘Here We Go Again’ follows Donna as she travels to Greece to find herself. She settles on the small island of Kalokairi and finds an abandoned farm house to live in. Whilst on her journey she meets three different young men and deicides to have a simple summer of love.
Whilst reprising some of the old classics such as ‘Mamma Mia’, the sequel also brings in some old favourites!
Such as ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ and ‘Fernando’ – which Cher sings from a top a balcony. With this in mind, the producers did also use some of ABBA’s less known songs including ‘When I Kissed The Teacher’. The sequel has kept the same sense of humour and fun and explores the themes and story that created the backdrop of the first movie.
It’s a truly feel good film, where the actors just jump into song and dance whenever they feel it is necessary.
Hugh Bright (young Harry) gets a show stopping dance number to ‘Waterloo’ in a Parisian restaurant, Christine Baranski tells her beating vagina to ‘be still’ whilst staring at Andy Garcia, and Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård pretend to be on the titanic. This film is full of moments where you’ll nearly fall off your seat with laughter but want to jump straight back up to sing along with the next tune.
The three young men playing young Bill, Harry and Sam have also become hits with audiences. Their charisma and rendition of the older men’s roles has to be applauded. They took all of the best pieces of the characters and helped to amplify them for their younger selves. This can seen again with the young women playing young Tanya and Rosie, they were perfect emblems of Christine Baranski and Julie Walters.
With the perfection of the casting in mind, we need to take a minute to talk about Lily James.
She threw herself in the role, reprising the role of Donna and showing her in her hit Donna and the Dynamos days. She has the vitality and carefree attitude that is explored as young Donna in the original film, a carefree-ness that is seen to be lost now she has a child and a crippling mortgage.
However, now that we’ve got the wonderful casting and feel good summery vibes out of the way. We do need to talk about the slight plot holes that exist. If you’re happy to go and see the film for the summery vibes and fantastic music, then please stop reading here! If you want some juicy inconsistencies then please read on!
In the first film, Donna meets Sam first, then Bill and then Harry. In this film, she meets Harry first in Paris (something that is somehow also mentioned in the first film) and then Bill, then Sam and then Bill again. So, her timeline of who she met and slept with and when is just a little bit confused.
Another plot hole becomes obvious if we look at the timeline of events.
We’ll start from 1979, when Donna apparently graduated from university. Within a year, she is pregnant and gives birth to Sophie. With this is mind, in Mamma Mia Sophie is 20, meaning the film is set in 2000. Sky talks of putting the website online, which although possible would have been very early on the internet. The bigger issues come when we watch Mamma Mia ‘Here We Go’, which is supposedly set five years after Mamma Mia. This would be fine, except for the use of iPhones and other modern technology.
Despite these little plot holes, it is still really difficult not to love Mamma Mia 2. The dialogue is humorous and slightly self-deprecating. The songs are well-performed, we get a little bit more of Pierce Brosnan’s roguish tones, and the vibes of the film will leave you smiling and humming along to ABBA for the rest of the summer. So if you’ve got a spare two hours, then get on down to the cinema and see Mamma Mia 2!
