Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

After the death of her mother (Meryl Streep), a young woman (Amanda Seyfried) attempts to carry on with the hotel that her mother owned. With her fiance (Dominic Cooper) away in New York, she must deal with the process alone. Intercut with her story, is the story of her mother's (Lily James) first visit to Greece and her own romantic tribulations as she maps out her life. By all rights, this sequel to the massive 2008 international hit should be godawful. Miraculously, dare I say it, it's pure joy and better than the first installment! Directed by Ol Parker (BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL), I was optimistic after the opening number with Lily James tearing up WHEN I KISSED THE TEACHER and by the time of the second number, Seyfried and Cooper dueting on ONE OF US, I breathed a sigh of relief. The movie was in good hands. Everyone from the first film returns along with some newbies like Cher as Seyfried's grandmother. The ABBA songs are as irresistible as ever and even though their lesser known songs take precedence, it worked for me as they were less familiar and thus more surprising. The end credits of the entire cast performing SUPER TROUPER kept the audience from leaving and even applauding. Oh yes, I'll definitely be revisiting it. With Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski, Andy Garcia, Julie Walters, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Alexa Davies, Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, Celia Imrie and Maria Vacratsis who steals every scene she's in.