Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again Review - Patriarchal Escapism 01/08/18
It is safe to proclaim that this summer the theatres have been haunted by films celebrating masculinity. Aside from Ocean’s 8 (2018) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) the cinematic holiday season has been dominated by action movies with strong male protagonists, flooded with violent fighting scenes and predictable narrative choices. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) feels like much needed relief from watching male heroes in their racy uniforms saving the world while exhibiting their gun-toting skills as in Skyscraper (2018), Mission Impossible:6 (2018), Sicario 2: Soldado (2018). The comfort it provides is, however, based on social delusion. As The Guardian’s Paul Mason insightfully noted, western civilisation, without even noticing, is entering a post-capitalist era. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again feels like a lucid dream of the perfect patriarchal, consumerist world; a desperate attempt to hold on to out-of-date values. It invites the audience to melt in not-so-intellectually demanding entertainment, to safely escape from uncertain reality to a universe in which nothing will disrupt our pleasure. Despite the fact that the film challenges the position of woman in traditional patriarchal culture, it also privileges white monogamous heterosexuality and completely ignores the sexual and racial diversity.
The first instalment of the stage musical adaptation Mamma Mia! (2008) unexpectedly broke box office records by earning a mind-blowing $615.7 million leaving critics in consternation. Set on the Greek island of Kalokairi, the film follows the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who is just about to marry her boyfriend Sky (Dominic Cooper). The bride-to-be dreams of being walked down the aisle by her father but the problem is that she has no idea who he is. Given that her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep) used be quite a rebel, there are three potential candidates. While travelling to the Greek paradise, where she eventually stayed and opened a hotel, Donna got romantically involved with three very different men. Consequently, Sophie decides to invite all the potential fathers to her wedding, hoping that when she sees them, she will simply know the truth. The naive, uncomplicated narrative combined with Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosman and Stellan Skarsgård awkwardly dancing and pretending to sing Abba’s biggest hits was enough to win viewers’ hearts. Moreover, Mammia Mia! was praised for its unconventional representation of women on the screen. Donna doesn’t hesitate to leave her comfortable American life to follow her heart and travel around the world while being a sexually active young woman. Furthermore, in the end her daughter decides to follow her footsteps and call the wedding off to take time to truly think about who she wants be in the future. A decade ago, the concept was definitely more ground-breaking than in the present, when Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again fills up the theatres again with Abba’s undeniably catchy music.
The film is an interesting combination of prequel and sequel as the narrative is focused on Sophie who prepares for the grand re-opening of the Bella Donna hotel while still mourning the death of her mother who died a year ago. Subsequently, the present day story is juxtaposed with flashback to the adventures of young Donna (Lily James). The structure of the film works very well and the young cast featuring Alexa Davies as young Rosie, Jessica Keenan Wynn as Tanya and the fabulous trio of Donna’s lovers: Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, and Jeremy Irvine. Directed by Ol Parker, Mamma Mia’s sequel stands up on more spectacle choreography and inventive cinematography. The script, written by Richard Curtis, is full of brilliant dialogue that echo the writer’s earlier work such as Four Wedding and a Funeral (1994) or Love Actually (2003). It also explores the notion of single motherhood and grief. However, what is striking about Parker’s film is its complete lack of racial or sexual diversity. It is impossible to find a non-white character (aside from flat representation of Greek nationals and questionable allusions to Greek economic crisis) and every relationship portrayed is heterosexual. Sadly, even Rosie’s character, who had significant potential to imply homosexuality, was lead into a predictable “straight” direction. Moreover, in Mamma Mia’s universe the notion of ‘money’ is simply non-existent as none of the characters have to be concerned about the fact that travelling, running a hotel, and especially raising a child is pricey. As I mentioned in the introduction, the film seems to emphasise the social inability to break free from capitalistic values despite the necessity for it. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again tries to convince us that the system is still strong and we will get our happy-ever-after soon.
In a nutshell, Parker’s film offers a springboard for society that is in the dawn of post-capitalism. It provides simple escapism by reinforcing old values but is it really that wrong? Civilisation undoubtedly needs to face inner demons, but until then it is perhaps not a sin to lose ourselves in celebration of white patriarchy. In uncertain times is there anything more comforting than white heterosexual romance?
The first instalment of the stage musical adaptation Mamma Mia! (2008) unexpectedly broke box office records by earning a mind-blowing $615.7 million leaving critics in consternation. Set on the Greek island of Kalokairi, the film follows the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who is just about to marry her boyfriend Sky (Dominic Cooper). The bride-to-be dreams of being walked down the aisle by her father but the problem is that she has no idea who he is. Given that her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep) used be quite a rebel, there are three potential candidates. While travelling to the Greek paradise, where she eventually stayed and opened a hotel, Donna got romantically involved with three very different men. Consequently, Sophie decides to invite all the potential fathers to her wedding, hoping that when she sees them, she will simply know the truth. The naive, uncomplicated narrative combined with Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosman and Stellan Skarsgård awkwardly dancing and pretending to sing Abba’s biggest hits was enough to win viewers’ hearts. Moreover, Mammia Mia! was praised for its unconventional representation of women on the screen. Donna doesn’t hesitate to leave her comfortable American life to follow her heart and travel around the world while being a sexually active young woman. Furthermore, in the end her daughter decides to follow her footsteps and call the wedding off to take time to truly think about who she wants be in the future. A decade ago, the concept was definitely more ground-breaking than in the present, when Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again fills up the theatres again with Abba’s undeniably catchy music.
The film is an interesting combination of prequel and sequel as the narrative is focused on Sophie who prepares for the grand re-opening of the Bella Donna hotel while still mourning the death of her mother who died a year ago. Subsequently, the present day story is juxtaposed with flashback to the adventures of young Donna (Lily James). The structure of the film works very well and the young cast featuring Alexa Davies as young Rosie, Jessica Keenan Wynn as Tanya and the fabulous trio of Donna’s lovers: Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan, and Jeremy Irvine. Directed by Ol Parker, Mamma Mia’s sequel stands up on more spectacle choreography and inventive cinematography. The script, written by Richard Curtis, is full of brilliant dialogue that echo the writer’s earlier work such as Four Wedding and a Funeral (1994) or Love Actually (2003). It also explores the notion of single motherhood and grief. However, what is striking about Parker’s film is its complete lack of racial or sexual diversity. It is impossible to find a non-white character (aside from flat representation of Greek nationals and questionable allusions to Greek economic crisis) and every relationship portrayed is heterosexual. Sadly, even Rosie’s character, who had significant potential to imply homosexuality, was lead into a predictable “straight” direction. Moreover, in Mamma Mia’s universe the notion of ‘money’ is simply non-existent as none of the characters have to be concerned about the fact that travelling, running a hotel, and especially raising a child is pricey. As I mentioned in the introduction, the film seems to emphasise the social inability to break free from capitalistic values despite the necessity for it. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again tries to convince us that the system is still strong and we will get our happy-ever-after soon.
In a nutshell, Parker’s film offers a springboard for society that is in the dawn of post-capitalism. It provides simple escapism by reinforcing old values but is it really that wrong? Civilisation undoubtedly needs to face inner demons, but until then it is perhaps not a sin to lose ourselves in celebration of white patriarchy. In uncertain times is there anything more comforting than white heterosexual romance?
