Marty and I saw Mama Mia Two today and we loved it. In fact we may see it a second time – but! For us this film was just the break from the reality of our every day lives that we needed. It was so much fun and so easy to relate to and get involved with the characters that we found it very entertaining, uplifting and surprisingly I got involved with them on an emotional level. Every actor brought a bit of joy to the film including Cher. I’m not a fan of hers at all but even she was enjoyable.

None of these actors will be nominated for any awards – possibly because they were so transparent and also because this movie has no depth – no deeper meaning – it doesn’t make any statements about the down cast or oppressed. It is simply FUN! And who doesn’t like to hear the Music of Abba? It’s like us being in our thirties all over again!

I was concerned the film was going to be a clumsy remake of the original. The screen writer did a great job of going back and forth in time – giving us more details about the life of Donna (Merrill Streep) – her daughter- her friends and the three possible “fathers.” Other than the last twenty minutes of the film I thought the flash backs were my favorite parts and they were very easy to follow.

Then why the “but?” We saw Mama Mia on Broadway and loved it. We saw the first film and loved it so we were primed for version “Two.” If I were going to suppress the joy I walked away with I  could say that the first 15 minutes or so were a little slow. Also, if you wait for home viewing you won’t miss hardly anything except the case of delayed gratification from the kind of film I wish there were more of today.

Finally, if you go you absolutely have to stay in your seats when it seems the film is over. At our showing not one person moved and the last five minutes or so of extra footage was the second most enjoyable part of the film for me. My personal favorite was the armada of fishing vehicles coming to the party with the whole cast joining in for a rousing rendition of “Dancing Queen.” Now if you don’t remember or like Abba’s “Dancing Queen” this movie is not for you. It was all I could do not to sing along. When it was over the audience clapped!

Take a moment from the drama of life, politics and the markets and go see Mama Mia Two. I hope you enjoy it half as much as Marty and I did.

Larry