Our verdict on the Mamma Mia! sequel, Here We Go Again
CERT TBC, 114 MINUTES, IN CINEMAS 20 JULY
Starring: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Meryl Streep, Cher, Jeremy Irvine Director: Ol Parker
THE PLOT How to follow up Mamma Mia!, the phenomenal big-screen translation of the much-loved stage show? With Here We Go Again, we delve into the back story, learning how Donna (Meryl Streep in the modern timeline, and Lily James in 1979) sets off to the Med, enjoying romances with three handsome young fellas along the way. In the present, Sophie (Seyfried) – who is expecting a baby with boyfriend Sky (Cooper) – renovates her mother Donna’s taverna. And no one’s going to miss that opening party…
WHAT’S RIGHT/WRONG WITH IT? Reviews are embargoed until shortly after this edition of heat is on sale, but it’s a good sign that Richard Curtis (Love Actually) was involved in the original story conception. And while some of the songs from the first movie appear again – with new staging – the filmmakers hope audiences will also be beguiled by less-familiar ABBA tunes, such as I’ve Been Waiting For You and When I Kissed The Teacher.
VERDICT “Mamma Mia! has its cake and eats it too, all the way up to the hilarious final-credits number,” was our verdict on the original movie ten years ago, in which we also owned up to being “thoroughly disarmed and pleasantly surprised”. Our fingers are crossed that this one is just as good.