Uh Oh: Here We Go Again!

Source: Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018) (imdb.com)

So no sooner I come back from London, I only had a couple of hours to turn around before going out to the cinema with college friends - the reason I'm writing about this though is that we saw one of the most anticipated films of the whole summer: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the sequel to the 2008 smash-hit film Mamma Mia.

There was surprise all round when this project was announced: some were so excited they didn't know what to do with themselves, whereas others were really confused and shouted out "Who ordered the Mamma Mia sequel?"; only this isn't just a sequel, but a prequel/sequel hybrid...!

So what happens in this sequel/prequel hybrid? Well, constantly time hopping from one to the other, the sequel follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) reopening the villa as a hotel and finding out she's going to be a mother, while the prequel follows a young Donna (Lily James) moving to the island and meeting the 3 dad's along the way: Sam (Jeremy Irvine), Harry (Hugh Skinner) and Bill (Josh Dylan).

Similarly to the film and the musical it is based on, there isn't much of a plot other than that, but let's face it, you don't come into Mamma Mia for the story. You come to hear the songs and have a good time. Some of the songs aren't new to Mamma Mia, as they record new versions of classics such as Waterloo and Dancing Queen, but there are some new ones like Fernando and I Kissed The Teacher - it's a big old cheese fest and you wouldn't have it any other way.

One part I do need to mention though is how big Cher's part was made out to be through the promotion and marketing compared to how big it actually is. In reality, her character (Donna's mother Ruby) didn't come in until the 3rd act of the film, and her addition didn't really add anything. Yeah, it was mentioned that she wasn't the best mother to Donna, but let's leave it at that to showcase that Donna would have had no one other than the Dynamos (Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies doing a pretty good job of portraying a young Christine Baranski and Julie Walters).
It's a small thing, but like I said, because Cher was big part of the marketing, it can be a bit misleading - instead of having her on Graham Norton alongside Baranski, why not have Walters, Seyfried or James?

Anyhow, onto my recommendation; and this all depends on whether you liked the original film or the stage musical. If you did, then you're going to love this; if you didn't then you won't, it's as simple as that. If you haven't seen either but want something fun that doesn't take itself too seriously for a girls night or similar, then this is a good shout. It's made to be fun, entertaining and a little bit silly; and that's exactly how it should be!