Leigh Paatsch: The surprising truth about Mamma Mia! sequel

A DECADE ago, the first Mamma Mia! movie was an out-of-nowhere hit, despite severe shortcomings across the board. This time, the Here We Go Again sequel has packed more than one surprise into the package.

GO right ahead and mark this down as a minor, yet welcome movie miracle.

For Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is that rare movie sequel that markedly improves upon everything everybody so enjoyed about the original.

A decade ago, the first Mamma Mia! was an out-of-nowhere hit, despite severe shortcomings across the board.

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That first movie was a jukebox musical reimagined as an all-ABBA karaoke session, conducted on cut-price ouzo night.

All the golden hits in the super-Swedes’ pop-tastic songbook were monstered by some brassy renditions from those not strictly known for their singing ability (hello, Pierce Brosnan!).

Nevertheless, the whole, unashamedly guilty-pleasure vibe of it all kicked down the doors to a viewer’s pleasure centre with dazzling ease.

Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried and Christine Baranski shine in a scene from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Picture: Jonathan Prime/Universal Pictures

Now, here comes Here We Go Again, which pulls off the same rare feat as before, without leaving you feeling as if you’ve showered in corn syrup.

The feel-good factor at work in this superior follow-up is a sure shot of pure, giddy uplift.

The dose is cut through with a big heart, a little soul and a bonus, late-breaking load of sincere poignancy that is earned, and not assumed.

What is most important to note is that Here We Go Again gets the jaunty job done in fine style, even when two very notable absences are taken into account.

First of all, the emblematic lead character of all things Mamma Mia, Donna (played by Meryl Streep) is not in this movie. (A spoiler-free clarification about this shock development: she is in the movie, but not in her beloved Streep-ly incarnation. More about that later.)

Secondly, the Here We Go Again soundtrack must mostly make do with second-choice selections from ABBA’s bulky back-catalogue of earworms. All the big guns were fired off in the first Mamma Mia!.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Amanda Seyfried, left, and Meryl Streep in a scene from "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again." (Jonathan Prime/Universal Pictures via AP)

Nevertheless, the songs used are, for the most part, beautifully, joyfully and (thank heavens) tunefully handled here.

There ain’t much of a plot holding together Here We Go Again, but that won’t be too much of a disappointment to anyone.

Proceedings kick off with the sobering realisation that Donna is no longer with us, having passed away the year before.

To honour her memory, daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to open a boutique hotel (christened the Bella Donna) on her mother’s idyllic Greek island base of Kalokairi.

While plans for the launch strike a few snags — Sophie’s husband Sky (Dominic Cooper) has gone AWOL, and her three dads (Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth) may not make it to the big party — a long chain of flashbacks is gradually unspooled.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Colin Firth, from left, Stellan Skarsgard and Pierce Brosnan in a scene from "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again." (Jonathan Prime/Universal Pictures via AP)

It is in these sections that Here We Go Again finds the majority of its fresher, better outcomes.

What we get is the origin story of how the younger Donna (played by an irresistible, up-for-anything Lily James) first found her way to her spiritual home of Kalokairi … and conceived Sophie in comically vague circumstances en route.

It cannot be unmentioned how much of an effective secret weapon James turns out to be for Here We Go Again.

Rather than being daunted by the prospect of subbing in for Streep, she just goes with the freewheeling flow of the experience. James continually looks to be having herself a whale of a time, and the feeling is infectiously conveyed in all directions.

After covering bases in a better-than-expected first two acts of its story, Here We Go Again then pivots gloriously into the saving-the-best-till-last zone.

Cher makes a surprise appearance. Picture: Jonathan Prime/Universal Pictures

It all goes down at the fateful opening night of the Bella Donna, and it is all about the spectacular entrance made by an uninvited guest: Sophie’s notoriously estranged grandmother Ruby (played by the notoriously ageless Cher).

The arrival of Cher feels very much a magic movie moment, and magic does indeed come to pass when it suddenly dawns on you that the screenwriters have appointed her to be the trojan horse for a showstopping version of the ABBA classic Fernando. (The ultra-ridiculous excuse for how this song ties in to the narrative is priceless.)

And then, just when it seems it is already mission accomplished for Here We Go Again, another magic moment is conjured out of thin air.

If you are the type of Mamma Mia! fan truly mourning the absence of Streep as Donna, let’s just say that her spirit — never far away in the scenes anchored by James — manifests itself in a surprise rendition of My Love, My Life that will help the healing process no end (and start some serious waterworks while doing so).

STAGE REVIEW: MAMMA MIA! HOW CAN WE RESIST YOU?

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (PG)

Rating: Three stars (out of five)

Director: Ol Parker (Imagine Me & You)

Starring: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Cher, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters.

How Swede it is the second time around