Mamma Mia: Let's not 'Go Again'

First let me start off by saying, when the first Mamma Mia movie came out, the whole world fell in love with the movie itself and its characters. There was Sophie, Donna, Sam, Harry, Bill, Tonya, and Rosie. It was a great movie with songs from the ABBA soundtrack and being a hit Broadway musical.

Now let’s talk about this new movie, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. This Mamma Mia sequel focuses on Donna’s (played by Meryl Streep) teenage years, when she met Sam, Bill, and Harry. She travels to Calicarry, Greece and begins fixing up her new hotel with her gal pals, when she ends up getting pregnant with Sophie. It takes you through all the journeys and mischief Donna gets herself into after she graduates from high school.

In present day….It also shows you how Sophie is taking care of things back at home after her mother, Donna, passed away.

During the first movie, Mamma Mia, the audience fell in love with the classic characters. Donna, portrayed by Meryl Streep (Devil Wears Prada, The Giver), was a favorite among most. The main problem with the second movie was Meryl Streep was not in it. When I watched this movie, I patiently waited for Ms. Streep to show up, and it felt like I was waiting a lifetime. She finally made an appearance for about thirty seconds in the end when she sings with Sophie for the last time before she leaves again. I found this part a little bit strange considering the fact that Donna is supposed to be dead.

Let’s continue by talking about that fact that none of the guys looked like they were supposed to. In the first movie it is said that Harry is a headbanger, Sam is a hippie, and Bill is “from the flower power”, but none of the boys are portrayed like this in the recent film. Harry just looks like he is in his normal, awkward teenage stage, and Sam is not even close to a hippie when he comes in on his motorcycle to save Donna. Bill, same as Harry, just looks like a normal teenager (well one who has his very own boat). Another point about the boys is in the first movie when Sophie reads from her mother's diary, she mentions that her mother meets Bill, Sam, and then Harry, but it is completely mixed up in this movie.

This movie just leaves us with a lot of questions and a lot of things to consider. My main questions are: How did Donna die and why did she die? Why would you kill off your most valued character? I will admit that I liked how they fit some of the songs from the original movie into the sequel, but most of the songs were unrecognizable to me. I liked how in the first one my friends and I were able to sing along with the cast, but I could not say the same about this continuation of Mamma Mia.

All in all, I would not say this was the best of movies. It might have just been that my expectations were too high, or that I just was not a fan of the soundtrack, but I would not recommend going to see this movie. If you are a die hard Mamma Mia fan, this movie sequel might let you down a bit. So, if you are planning on going to the movie theater I would sit out on this Mamma Mia film, and maybe grab some movie theater popcorn and go home to your computer to binge watch a whole Netflix series.