Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

[James from London]

Wow, Mark Kermode thought this about the first one:

Mark Kermode's description below is quite persuasive

Few movies deserve the sobriquet 'so bad it's brilliant' but this rollickingly rubbish adaptation of an already transparently terrible stage show is an exception. Indeed, despite (or perhaps because of) its undeniable awfulness, Mamma Mia! has turned out to be one of the real treats of the year, a flower of fun amid a desert of dirge that makes you want to stand up and shout thank you for the music!

The (surely parodic?) plot is a poptastic pile-up of Abba song titles in which a young chiquitita says, 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' to her honey honey but then faces her Waterloo because her ageing dancing queen mamma mia doesn't know which man after midnight gave her gave her gave her a child, so she must take a chance on three potential dads (sadly, none of whom are named Fernando) to see which winner will take it all up the aisle on the big day. Voulez vous?

Not 'arf!

What may have been crowd-pleasingly camp on stage erupts into something altogether more cataclysmic in a film which has been lovingly miscast to a man. Colin Firth can't dance, Stellan Skarsgård can barely speak, and Pierce Brosnan cannot sing a note, although this doesn't stop him from taking a running jump at 'SOS' to knuckle-chewing effect. By contrast, a nimble dungaree-clad Meryl Streep approaches Benny and Björn's ditties as if they were Shakespearean soliloquies, with ravishingly ripe results.

And through it all the songs remain utterly indestructible, lifting the soul, tapping the toes, and ultimately conjuring a stunning reversal of fortune in which shock and awe turn to delectation and delight and everyone goes home a happier, better person. Go on - treat yourself; rarely has something so wrong felt so right.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/16/merylstreep-musical

And this about the second one:

I'm kind of intrigued now.

 

[Jason73]

I saw it today and found it extremely enjoyable. It made me happy.

 

[James from London]

Nick Grimshaw's tweet just made me laugh:

wow. wow. wow. has anyone else seen Mamma Mia 2? I lasted 38 minutes

 

[Willie Oleson]

I lasted 38 minutes

Before leaving or before jamming his fist in his mouth?

I was going to say, this movie is dividing the world into two camps, but the likers still outnumber the haterz.

 

[Sarah Danner]

Saw it. Loved it! Go see it. You will, too.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I must say, she reminds me of Judith Ryland

But does Mama Mia like?

 

[Jason73]

I must say, she reminds me of Judith Ryland

But does Mama Mia like?

Aha!! THAT'S who she reminded me of!! Thank you!! Now I love her performance even more. Imagine Judith Ryland singing Fernando. (Fernando Ramos, perhaps? )

 

[Willie Oleson]

Imagine Judith Ryland singing Fernando. (Fernando Ramos, perhaps? )

That's not so far-fetched actually since Dallas had a Fernando, and he was one of the thugs who had kidnapped Judith's precious granddaughter.

But he was kinda cute and not very smart.

 

[James from London]

"having always believed that Abba’s greatest song was a melancholy gem from the Arrival LP, it was the spine-tingling reworking of My Love, My Life that hit me hardest. I wasn’t just crying – I was convulsing with tears, desperately trying to stop myself from audibly sobbing. Seriously, the end of Apocalypse Now proved less traumatic."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/22/mamma-mia-here-we-go-again-review

 

[Alexis]

"having always believed that Abba’s greatest song was a melancholy gem from the Arrival LP, it was the spine-tingling reworking of My Love, My Life that hit me hardest. I wasn’t just crying – I was convulsing with tears, desperately trying to stop myself from audibly sobbing. Seriously, the end of Apocalypse Now proved less traumatic."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/22/mamma-mia-here-we-go-again-review

Ok... But Abba's greatest song is clearly One Of Us.

Well today it is.

 

[Jason73]

"having always believed that Abba’s greatest song was a melancholy gem from the Arrival LP, it was the spine-tingling reworking of My Love, My Life that hit me hardest. I wasn’t just crying – I was convulsing with tears, desperately trying to stop myself from audibly sobbing. Seriously, the end of Apocalypse Now proved less traumatic."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/22/mamma-mia-here-we-go-again-review

That is an ABBA track I wasn't familiar with until I saw the movie. It made me cry in the movie and I've since listened to the ABBA version at least a dozen times. It's a really beautiful song.

Ok... But Abba's greatest song is clearly One Of Us.

Well today it is.

One of Us is usually at the top or the near the top of my list. It's just so beautifully sad and miserable.

 

[Karin Schill]

I watched this movie today at the cinema with my mom. I must admit that it was not the feel good movie I had expected and that My love my life had me in tears too.

The trailer is totally misleading. Although there were lots of fun lavish musical numbers too and some laughs this movie has captured the melancholy of some ABBA songs and yes I found it sad!