here we are again

There’s always that instance when we chance upon something we don’t really need but we end up thinking it’s just what we need after all. One such instance is the premier of Ol Parker’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Nobody asked for a follow-up to the 2008 smash hit Mamma Mia! And yet, ten years later, as the subtitle implies, here we are, in this world of unease and uncertainty, about to witness a wild and colorful romp.

Here We Go Again is a strange prequel-sequel hybrid of sorts, and somehow it succeeds, considering it follows a film that is based on a theater musical that is loosely inspired by a bunch of songs from the Swedish pop group, ABBA. This latest installment traverses two timelines, with the present focusing on Amanda Seyfried’s Sophie, daughter of Meryl Streep’s Donna, and how she navigates a life trying to perfect, or at least capture, her mother’s ambitions. The past timeline, on the other hand, serves as a major performance showcase for Lily James (who is playing the younger Donna) and as a fleshing-out of the throwaway details that are mentioned in the previous film: How did Donna meet those three guys who become Sophie’s three fathers? How did she end up in that idyllic Greek island? Who is her mother?

Here We Go Again basically fills the gaps, and it does so with a balance of drama and comedy, and an excess of brisk and boisterous song-and-dance numbers. In here we get to see serious actors, once again, act like they are unsupervised and are just enjoying a break from the constraints that come with the label “serious actor.” Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski, and Julie Walters reprise their roles, and they are joined by a talented and absurdly attractive cast that serves as their younger versions. In full display they all get to perform both famous and lesser known ABBA songs (but are there really lesser known ABBA songs?).

Meryl Streep is little seen this time (spoiler alert!), but her duet with Sophie of the song My Love, My Life near the end of film could easily put anyone’s heart in a blender. Be prepared to ugly-cry. She is by far one of the greatest living actors of any generation. As if she is not enough, this movie introduces characters played by Andy Garcia and Cher, with the latter’s presence concretely affirming the case that we need to see her in many movies, that seeing her in only one movie this year is criminally insane. Cher is Cher, you get the picture.

All in all, it’s a bright and ridiculous, highly-saturated, overly-convoluted kitschy fun, but you won’t mind. Even if you’ve left the cinema, the songs are still playing in your head. Again and again. And then you might want to watch it again


[ photo borrowed from this site ].