I'm always a sucker for musicals, and Mamma Mia is no exception.
I mean Meryl Streep and Colin Firth in the same movie? What could be better?
Before seeing the sequel I was a little nervous, how could anything ever live up to a movie like that?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, they did it again. If you haven't yet seen the movie, stop reading and go see it. There are spoilers ahead.
The movie picks up a few years after the end of the first one, and only a year or so after the death of Donna. I don't know about you, but that little kicker at the beginning, hurt a little. Ok, a lot.
The movie doesn't stay sad, though, as the plot soon turns back-flash as we finally get to see the story of young Donna coming to the island and meeting the three men who could all be Sophie's dad. It's the story we've been asking for since the end of the first number in the original.
The story goes back and forth between the present day, as Sophie plans on opening her finished hotel on the island in her mother's memory, and the past, as Donna leaves her home and moves to Greece where she becomes pregnant.
While there are some serious inconsistencies between what the first movie claims happened and what the second movie shows, it's easy to put that aside when you start watching all the fantastic musical numbers.
The songs in this movie are so darn good. Most are new jams, but there are some throwbacks, of course, like Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia.
Lily James is gorgeous and absolutely perfect for this role as young Donna. Her voice is incredible and her energy is so reminiscent of Meryl's from the first movie.
In addition, the men who were chosen to play Sam, Bill, and Harry are so funny and charming, just like their adult counterparts.
The best part of the movie is seeing all the original favorites come back together again.
Watching Colin Firth dance to Dancing Queen on the bow of a ship was probably the highlight of my summer.
Plus, despite Donna's surprising and unexplained death, Meryl Streep still makes an appearance at the end of the film in a tear-jerking final scene.
By the end of the movie, the story comes full circle, as Sophie announces her pregnancy and Cher, playing Sophie's grandmother, belts out her ABBA solo.
All in all, the movie is full of catchy music, an incredible cast, and an all-around feel-good plot. I feared this sequel wouldn't live up to the original, but it really did. I loved this movie and highly recommend it to everyone. Please, please, please go see it.
