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I thought it had some good highs but also some really bad lows. Very uneven. In fairness, by the mid-way point I was starting to despair that it just stunk in general, but then it got funnier and more consistent. The second half saved it form being a stinker to just "meh". I did not realize it was supposed to be 5-years later, not 10. Even Sophie looked a lot older, still fantastic, but 10 years is a long time.
shareWow, what a killjoy. This movie clearly was not made for you. You have to just kinda kick back, put your feet up....and escape into the vacation of it all....escape into the joyful fantasy. The wonderful songs (yes, they were indeed all ABBA songs), the breathtaking locations, the fun they're all clearly having. It's a joy revisiting those characters again, in that amazing setting. Both MM films are movie magic. And if you didn't smile in your heart and get a few chills when Cher sang Fernando....well, I'm actually a bit sorry for you, that you missed out. Maybe...life has you just too down in the greys.
BTW, the concept....(of seeing Donna's back story) was brilliant. And the actress/singer who played her (Lily James): a real joy, and very talented.
You're right, this movie was not made for me. But, to be fair, the fact that Meryl wasn't in it till the end did put me off for the whole rest of the film. I kept expecting her ghost to show up, or flashbacks of her. As far as the songs go, maybe they were original ABBA songs. Just ones I'd never heard, and think now were the kind "left on the cutting room floor," when they toured. As a reviewer on the old IMDB said, they were "secondary songs that never made radio time.
But getting chills at Cher singing Fernando??? When her face looked like it been had dipped in wax, and she appeared as if she were brought out of mothballs? I never liked her or her singing anyway, I must admit. And I do like Lily James, as I said, especially in Downtown Abbey, lovely and winsome, as I said. But I thought she was just all wrong in her overacting. But then, I was comparing her to Meryl, who is always so great, even when she overacts, as she did in the original Mamma Mia. As the reviewer on IMDB said, "Lily James was amazing, but it was like watching a B-movie with a bunch of no-names."
"A B-movie with a bunch of no names?" I think that reviewer doesn't have much of a concept of musicals. Forget the fact that the movie had 10 very big stars in it. When you go to see a musical, you don't always know all the performers. It's more about the show than about the big names. But this one had 'em, big time. Including 2 of the biggest Hollywood names of the past 4 decades. And for me....I LOVE that Meryl was used sparingly. It would have just been a carbon copy of the first movie to have her back again in full capacity. The entire impetus of the story...was that she was gone. It added just a touch of sadness to the proceedings, while also creating great joy....in who she was, the lives she touched....how her free-spirited joy of life led her to a farmhouse in Greece. And to get just a glimmer of her, grace notes....at the end of the movie. It's what we were all hoping for, with great anticipation. And that moment she shared with Sophie did not disappoint. It goes straight to the heart.
Overacting? Musicals ARE practically the DEFINITION of overacting. In fact, the tiny amount of dialogue in musicals like this just serves as a bridge to the next wonderful ABBA song. When characters break out into song and dance out of nowhere.....it is INDEED overacting. But not in a BAD way. That's part of the fun and silly joy of a musical.
Cher? I had never been much of a fan, though I do appreciate her movie star presence, and the fact that she has stayed relevant so long. She's one of the last of a dying breed. The revered Hollywood starlet. And for her to play the elder diva, and sing that iconic ABBA song at the end was simply....perfect. A magic movie moment you don't often get anymore.
SPOILER...All the fuss about Cher being in this. I think the "dead" Donna had as much screen time as Meryl Streep! Also did Cher film her scenes at a different time as she didn't seem to interact with the rest of the cast.
shareIMO, it was perfect to have Cher in just that final scene. She wasn't meant to be a full-time player amongst that huge ensemble so much as the LEGEND of her character was. Sometimes, less is more. Having Char in the whole movie would have had diminishing returns. Besides, in some ways...she'd have outshined some of the lesser known in the cast. This was Lily James' movie....not Cher's, or Meryl's....or even Amanda Seyfried's. Cher obviously interacted with the others in that scene. (Did you and I watch the same movie??) And, she had a fantastic part in the finale song (the whole cast singing Super Trouper.
Cher was a cameo. But the build-up to that cameo was fun. We (the group I went with) knew the scene was coming....and couldn't wait for it. Likewise, we knew Meryl's Donna would be present at some point near the end as well--and that moment between she and Sophie was magic.
When Sean Connery showed-up for a cameo at the end of Robin Hood-Prince of Thieves....nobody complained that he only had a few lines and barely interacted with anyone. People just UNDERSTOOD....the impact of a huge star doing a quick cameo.
Except Chers character was also supposed to be dead as said by donna in the original. So who in continuity missed that ?
shareLOL, the movie is supposed to be a joyous escape, nothing more. This isn't Citizen Cane. Plot points are not nearly as important as....say.....did you enjoy the music? Did you enjoy the spirit of the songs?
I'd have to revisit the original to see what Donna said about her mother. Heck, maybe she simply lied about her mother being dead. I've seen other posts in which people are working out the ages, the timeframes, the periods of the flashbacks....and actually calculating that the timing in the flashbacks is not mathematically correct. If you're nitpicking continuity or plot points, you're missing the spirit in which this movie was made.
An idea it was, but it was a bad idea!
shareNo I'm not missing the spirit in which this movie was made. It made in the spirit of making large amounts of cash.
Why would Donna lie to her two best friends about her mother being dead? The movie is based largely on the flashbacks (Donnas story) as revealed in her diary, so people questioning the timing of the flashbacks, though nitpicking, is valid. That's what happens on movie discussion boards, or do you miss the spirit in which these boards work?
As for my thoughts on the movie over all, it was mostly enjoyable. As for Chers (and Andy Garcias) rendition of Fernando, I thought, if anything, besides being incredible you can tell that compared to everyone else in the movie Chers singing stood out by a country mile. And that's not saying the others singing was bad.
Words that don’t belong together: “the ABBA genius.”
shareOkay, I went a little over the top there. Maybe "the ABBA pizzazz" instead.
shareJust thought I'd add, if you want to see a movie (if you haven't already seen it, that is) that has fun with ABBA songs and the craze over them in Australia, watch "Muriel's Wedding," with the great Toni Collette.
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