I've loved ABBA since I first heard "The Winner Takes It All" as a girl and thought: "Wow, what a power ballad! And all about betrayed love *swoon*". And so, although ABBA the band hadn't been playing for ages, ABBA songs became part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. It follows, then, that I don't like ABBA songs "ironically"; I happen to think they are darned good songs, both melody- and lyrics-wise. When Mamma Mia the musical started playing in London, I went to see it and thought it was great entertainment. Although the plot was paper thin, professional musical artists and a witty script ("I'm old enough to be your mother! Well, you can call me Oidipus") made sure the soufflé didn't sag.
Then Mamma Mia! the movie came out, and was frankly a disappointment. The script felt dumbed down, and it was soon very clear that the line-up of famous actors who played in the film did not become famous for their singing talent. The only one whose singing really impressed me was Amanda Seyfried who plays Sophie, the daughter of Donna, who doesn't know which of her mother's three old admirers is her dad. Also, there was a lot of mugging all round. Everyone seemed to be in it just for the larks, and the message came across as "look, we know these songs are campy and cheesy, but c'mon, let's all have some fun!" As a true ABBA fan, I took exception to this. The film didn't seem to have any idea of what made the songs good or the musical entertaining in the first place. As mentioned, funny lines were cut and replaced by heavy-handed slapstick. "Our Last Summer", which in the musical was a touching reminiscence piece sung by Donna and one of her old beaux, became a fairly pointless number with Sophie and the three (possible) dads. One song the film didn't manage to ruin, though, was "Slipping Through My Fingers", which remained, as in the musical, an affecting moment between mother and daughter.
So when the first clip I saw from the sequel was in the same forced larky vein, I groaned. "When I Kissed The Teacher" is the only pop song I've ever heard about a teacher crush, and pretty much nails its subject matter. Though it is light-hearted - the original music video, with Magnus Härenstam as the hapless teacher, is hilarious - there is no doubt that the girl singing the song is well and truly smitten. In the film, a young Donna sings the number in lieu of a speech at her graduation from college and only kisses the teacher (a female don) for fun. Then she and her fellow graduate students run out and dance and sing, throwing their graduation hats in the air etc. Honestly, how do you manage to miss the point of a song so completely? I wasn't looking forward to the rest of it.
It turns out, though, that Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again shows more appreciation of its musical source material than the original film, and above all sounds a lot better. Most of the songs are given to Amanda Seyfried and to Lily James as young Donna, who also, mercifully, turns out to be sweet-voiced. The film takes the trouble to listen to what the songs actually say and fit the action to it rather than hamming it up at every turn. "One of Us" is allowed to be about a sticky point in Sophie's relationship with her boyfriend. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is really used to illustrate a sad break-up - although, as Donna and Sam had only been together for a week or so, the melancholy lyrics more fitted for the break-up of a long marriage don't really feel earned. "The Name Of The Game", where young Donna comes down with a bump from cloud nine at the end, works well, as does "Mamma Mia", which she now sings after she's had her heart broken but is trying to get herself together as the lead singer in a band. Donna's two old friends may still camp it up in "Angel Eyes", but at least their antics are nicely undercut by Sophie's real anguish over her boyfriend situation. I also liked how less well-known ABBA songs were smuggled in here and there: the melody of "I Let The Music Speak" is played as accordion accompaniment in a Paris scene; the amateurish Greek band Donna joins are performing "Kisses Of Fire" when she first hears them; at Sophie's party, people are dancing to "Hasta Mañana". A highlight worth mentioning is when Cher - who plays Sophie's glamorous grandmother - delivers an outstanding "Fernando" (though it's never made clear how she and her old love were separated, nor how they can get together again so smoothly without any recriminations).
Yes, the film has its fair share of somewhat clumsy comedy, but it didn't really bother me this time around. I left the cinema in the right sunny mood, feeling that some justice had been done to one of my favourite bands. If you need something to temporarily drive away the January blues, by all means take a chance on this.
