EXUBERANT!

by Sandra Olmsted

Skepticism that another installment to the beloved original, Mamma Mia! (2008), would hit any of the magic the first one did would be a rational thought. Thankfully, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! razzles, dazzles, and delights as much as the first one while incorporating more substantial pathos and nostalgia. As a sequel set five years after the original, the new film deals with Sophie preparing for her mother Donna’s island paradise hotel’s grand reopening, a bittersweet event because it coincides with the first anniversary of Donna’s death. The film, however, opens in prequel mode with Donna’s college graduation and intercuts these backstory revelations with Sophie’s story. Thanks to masterful editing and exceptionally astute casting of younger versions of the stars who played pivotal roles, the stories of Donna’s youth and Sophie’s current struggles sail seamlessly beside each other for a fabulous cruise down memory lane and learning from the past.

Young Donna (Lily James) dreams of adventure after college, and despite the pleas of best friends Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) and Rosie (Alexa Davies), Donna heads out into the wide world looking for something that will give her thrill and meaning she seeks. While roaming Europe, Donna has romantic adventures with the younger versions of Sophie’s three fathers, Sam (Jeremy Irvine), Bill (Josh Dylan), and Harry (Hugh Skinner) and, more importantly, falls in love with an island. Meanwhile, in present day, Sophie plans the grand reopening of the hotel with Sam (Pierce Brosnan), her only dad who can make it, and awaits the arrival of her mother’s best friends, Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters). Sophie also has a relationship-ending argument with her beau, Sky (Dominic Cooper). Will Sophie’s real father be revealed? Will dads Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) and Harry (Colin Firth) show up? What role does Cher play?

Slick editing creates beautiful parallels between past and present without any confusion between the storylines, and the editing’s subliminal message of haunting generational connections and the presence of those gone but still part of our lives provides a strong foundation for this musical. Abba’s feminist pop rock again plays an integral part in the film, and some are reprised from the first film with the new cast and/or new meanings; however, empowerment of women remains the central musical message. Between the heartfelt message and toe-tapping music, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! could be the summer’s fan favorite for female audiences because the characters represent the kind of superheroes women love — ones that could really exist and get to live the freedom and lives women dream for themselves. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! is rated PG-13 for some suggestive material and run an exuberant, fast-paced 114 minutes. A Universal Pictures release, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! is theaters now and waiting to delight and uplift the audience!

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