Mamma Mia! / Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Movies; 2008, PG-13; Sequel 2018, PG-13

Premise - A young girl about to get married wants nothing more than for her dad to walk her down the aisle. The problem is, she doesn't know who her father is... and neither does her mother. There are three potential lovers from around the time of Donna's pregnancy who could be Sophie's biological father, so Sophie invites all three to her wedding to covertly discover which one is family. Set as a musical exclusively with ABBA songs.

Review - I think I saw the first one around when it came out, but I had little interest at the time. I also had the option to see the musical in London, but I opted for The Woman in Black instead, so you can see this has been a low priority musical in my life. But my dad bought both the first and second one to watch because Lily James (queen!) stars as a young Donna in the prequel/sequel film and that's reason enough to watch. I fell in love with the first one and was extraordinarily disappointed with the second. Turns out Lily James was the only reason that film should have ever been made.

In the first film, there's not much plot, or point, but that's the fun of it. It's just carefree, beautiful women of all ages singing and dancing on a gorgeous Greek island beach. There's flowy hair and flowy clothes, and ABBA pop music, and lots of dirty jokes. It's very female friendly, with lots of female friendships and solidarity as they make progressive jokes about men and sex, especially among the older age group. Meryl Streep is absolutely phenomenal as a free-spirited, yet middle-aged Donna. I enjoyed it for the spectacle, more than the story. Sophie never finds out who her real father is, and they all become her family. It also playfully pokes at the stereotypes of the past, with the caricatured ABBA music and costumes. Everything is a bit overacted as all the girls are just happy and screaming all the time, but that's just the aesthetic of the film. Happy, carefree women.

The second film takes a look at young Donna, and how she got pregnant with Sophie, along with an older Sophie, pregnant with her first child. It has no clear way of transitioning between past and present and is paced extremely awkwardly. Worse, they tried to add so much sentiment to the film and turn it into a tear-jerker. The first film had no element of seriousness to it, and that's what made the plotless nonsense work. It doesn't adapt well to an emotional film. Lily James was very fun to watch as young Donna, as were her young friends. The young men who grew up to be Sophie's fathers, however, actually ended up diminishing the humor of the first film for me. I love when Donna spots these men for the first time in decades and pictures them as their crazy 80's (I think it's 80's?) selves, but they don't have the same ridiculousness and youthful energy to them when we actually see them as young individuals. I don't know. It just didn't work for me.

The first movie ranks at about an 84, and the second at about a 49. Most times, I'd just go with whatever ranks higher, and if I really don't like the sequel I ignore its existence altogether... but the thing is, I wouldn't have watched the first one if not for the sequel, so let's average the scores. (66/100)

Quote - "YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEEEEEN!"

What to watch for - The beautiful Greek island! The setting is breathtaking, and watching the girls get to just run around on the beach... gosh... Lucky souls.

If you liked these movies, I'd recommend Hairspray ??

Based on the stage musical by Catherine Johnson
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Sequel directed by Ol Parker
Distributed by Universal Pictures