Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the sequel every woman in Greece and America has been waiting for. Set five years after the original film (although it's been ten real years) and one year after the death of her mother, Sophie has finished remodeling the hotel and is set to throw a huge opening party. Following an argument with Sky that ends in a split, and a major storm destroying her decorations, however, Sophie is feeling alone and is left wondering how her mother ever survived.

I want to first start by saying that this sequel is getting better reviews than the original. People were not super crazy about the first movie (it got a 6/10 on IMDb), but they all know and loved the music, and this sequel is bringing them all to tears. While I did enjoy this movie and I loved hearing the old songs once again, I wasn't crazy about it. I left the theater in a bit of awe at the people that were crying, and wondering if I had missed something.

I did like following Lily James, who played the young Donna, as she met the three fathers on her international journey from the University of Oxford to Greece. She has an amazing singing voice, and she did a wonderful job in this role. The three fathers though? Young Harry, Hugh Skinner, is awkward and desperate for sex. Donna met him and not four hours later he's all, "Let's have sex!" I wasn't having any part of it. That was not how I had pictured young Harry at all from the first film.  Young Bill, Josh Dylan, wasn't much better. He wasn't as pushy about it, but still. The men in this film look like needy children that are only interested in one thing, and I hated it.

Left to right: Young Bill, Young Harry, and Young Sam (Josh Dylan, Hugh Skinner, and Jeremy Irvine)

The best parts in this movie were the original songs. I wasn't as into the new music as I thought I would be. They were all very slow or very weird (in terms of young Harry's song "Waterloo"). I didn't understand them. Sure they were catchy, but the attraction, to me, stopped there. Also, why is Cher in this film? Everyone loves Cher, I know, I agree. But...really? Her voice isn't even on the same level as the other people in this film. It sticks out among them and her character of Sophie's Grandma, Ruby Sheridan, really wasn't necessary to the story. Donna hated her, and yet here she is ready to be a grandma? No thank you. I could have done without that whole plot line altogether.

Left to right: Young Tanya, Young Donna, and Young Rosie (Jessica Keenan Wynn, Lily James, and Alexa Davies)

I think the hardest part about this whole movie is that Meryl Streep really isn't in it. To me, she made Mamma Mia what it is today. People didn't flock to see the original film for Sophie, no offense Amanda Seyfried, but it's true. Meryl hasn't won innumerable awards for nothing! How dare you make a movie she was a huge part of and then kill her off! Without any explanation no less! I never heard any mention of how she died. Maybe that's what I missed that made everyone cry. Or maybe I'm just weird and don't cry at movies. Who knows?

IMDb gave this sequel a 7.3/10 and Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 77%, and those are very good ratings. I did enjoy the movie, but it wasn't what I wanted it to be, and that's why I wouldn't have rated it as high. I would still go see it if you enjoyed the first Mamma Mia. You will love Lily James as I did, and you will feel for her when you see how young Sam lied to her and broke her heart. I hope you feel differently about this movie than I did, and I don't often say that.