Here We Go Again!

Did you enjoy the musical play and/or 2008 film, Mamma Mia!? Then you will enjoy the 2018 sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. I discovered it accidentally while scrolling ahead on the HBO schedule.

A prettier and more mature Sophie is now in charge of her mother Donna’s hotel, planning a grand re-opening after her mother’s passing a year earlier. That’s basically the story setting, but of course, it gets complicated. We know what happened in the original movie, and now we find out what preceded and followed it.

The original characters reprise their roles in present day, and younger actors in flashbacks. And (wild cheers) ... Cher’s in it.

Oh, and those ABBA songs you love and missed in the original movie? Quite a few are performed in this sequel. And that’s good, because let’s face it, ABBA’s music makes the Mamma Mia! play and movie(s) sparkle. I bet you, like me, will be singing along.

For the record, Here We Go Again was a big box office success, bringing in neatly $400 million against a $75 million budget.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is great entertainment with excellent production values, well worth your time, unless you don’t like ABBA.

Three notes: (1) The christening scene is an emotional tear-jerker, (2) thankfully, Pierce Brosnan doesn’t sing any solos, and (3) there is an Easter egg at the end of the closing credits, so listen to the music until you get there, or alternatively fast forward.