Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Blu-ray Movie Review

Carmelina 2?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 22, 2018

In one of those kind of weird concatenations that might be seen as either mere coincidence or something more “meaningful” like synchronicity, right before Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again showed up in my review queue, I Music Directed a local production of the now very infrequently performed original stage version of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, the musical about reincarnation and ESP which has some so-called “book problems” but which features a really ravishing score by composer Burton Lane and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. In just one of many examples of what a treasure trove of useless trivia I maintain in my musical geek noggin, and as I discussed in some detail when I reviewed the original Mamma Mia! (for another site) many years ago, Lerner and Lane had first worked together on the early fifties film Royal Wedding, but more than a decade after On a Clear Day kind of meandered through the 1965-66 Broadway season, the two reteamed for a musical even less successful than On a Clear Day, 1979’s Carmelina, a show about an Italian mother who has told her daughter her late father was an American serviceman who died heroically during World War II. The real truth is that Carmelina was a bit of a flirt and had had a trio of affairs, leading to comedic calamity when three very much alive and kicking (and dancing) GIs show up in her little village to reunite with their former lover. As I asked in my original review of Mamma Mia years ago: sound familiar? Some online sites (incorrectly) draw a parallel between Carmelina and the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, incorrect at least with regard to Carmelina being “officially” based on the film, since there is copious data available that Lerner (especially) and Lane insisted their concept was an original musical (and indeed the credits for the show feature no “based on” credit of any kind). Interestingly, another show with a curiously similar plotline also contains no “official” link to Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, though the connections, much as with Carmelina, are patently obvious. Carmelina never really found an audience, closing within just a couple of weeks, but it featured a score that in my personal estimation may be even more ravishing than Lerner and Lane’s work on On a Clear Day. No, it took not just moving the story from Italy to Greece, but the addition of (pre-existing) songs by a quartet of Swedes, to finally make this tale of long ago love and the hazards of weaving tales to your children that the facts don’t necessarily support an overwhelming success. Mamma Mia became a smash in the West End and on Broadway, and the film version raked in immense amounts of cash. It’s taken a while, but hijinks are brewing once again, though this time at least partially in flashback, as Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again might have been more accurately subtitled There We Went Back Then, since it deals with the early romantic exploits of Donna (played almost exclusively by Lily James as a younger woman).

Those unfamiliar with this kinda sorta prequel/sequel and who are not wanting a spoiler had best stop reading right now, since I'm about to divulge what is perhaps a bit of subterfuge on the part of the marketing team behind the film. As can clearly be seen in the cover art included above, and which was also reproduced on the key art for the theatrical exhibition of Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again, Meryl Streep is rather prominently featured right smack dab in the middle of the gaggle of cast members. But Streep is consigned to what is more or less a cameo in this film since a certain melancholic aspect accrues due to the fact that Donna has died, leaving Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) to take over Donna's gorgeous boutique hotel. (In fact Streep's appearance in this film may remind certain musical geeks of a similar artifice utilized in Carousel.)

Instead, the film ping pongs rather smartly between vignettes detailing Sophie's personal and business trials with scenes offering background on how young Donna (Lily James) came to have relationships with the three men played in their older versions by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård. Production numbers kind of appear out of nowhere fully formed like Venus on the Half Shell, but perhaps surprisingly, there's an overall ebullience to this effort that makes it highly enjoyable in its own way, even if some aspects definitely seem like a retread.

Some of the best energy in the film comes courtesy of Donna's younger version escapades with the musical group called the Dynamos, and Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are once again on hand as the elder versions of two of Donna's erstwhile bandmates. The biggest casting coup of this film is no doubt the relatively late appearance of Cher as Ruby, Donna's mother and Sophie's grandmother, in a kind of Auntie Mame force of nature characterization. As with the first film, Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again is a riot of color, and if the songs aren't quite as well shoehorned in to this enterprise as with the first film, there are some really appealing numbers, including what almost amounts to a kind of Bollywood-esque finale.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. Digitally captured with various Arri Alexa products and finished at a 2K DI (according to the IMDb), this is a bright and colorful presentation that offers consistently excellent detail levels throughout, including some nighttime scenes that have been graded toward a kind of purplish blue tone. The brightly lit outdoor scenes almost pop off the screen with the same kind of saturation that made the first film so memorable. (Blues in this film are just as vivid and almost fluorescent at times as they were in the original Mamma Mia!.) It does look to me like certain scenes were green screened, and there's just a slight softness to a few backgrounds, perhaps as a result of this technique. That said, the location work (Croatia, again according to the IMDb, but also listed in the closing credits) is often extremely impressive, with gorgeous teal tones informing the water and depth field exceptional in several wide vistas. Despite potential bugaboos like fairly ornate patterns on things like the sheets and other fabrics in the hotel, or the zig zag smock that Sophie wears, and even the glints of light on the water, I noticed no compression problems at all in this presentation. The palette is warm and lifelike, and often incredibly bold, making Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again as much as a delight for the eyes as it is for the ears.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again features a great sounding Dolby Atmos track that I suspect some people may feel is not quite up to the 5.0 I'm granting it, since there aren't a glut of "showy" Atmos moments in the presentation. Instead, there's consistent immersion granted due to the many musical numbers, but even in non singing and dancing moments, there's some really appealing sound design going on, especially in the Greek sequences, where ambient environmental sounds dot the surround channels. The island scenes offer the whistling of wind and bird chirps with fair regularity, and occasionally some of those effects can sound just slightly artificial, especially in the higher frequencies. Some of the flashback material is arguably a bit more tamped down in terms of tons of environmental effects, but many of the flashback scenes contain songs, so that perceived deficit is at least partially ameliorated by the immersion the music offers. Fidelity is superb throughout, supporting both the orchestral forces and singing. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted/Extended Songs and Scenes all feature optional commentary by director and screenplay writer Ol Parker:

  Deleted Song Performance - "I Wonder" (1080p; 3:04)

  
  

  Extended Song Performance - "The Name of the Game" (1080p; 3:13)

  
  

  Extended Song Performance - "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (1080p; 2:41)

  
  

  Deleted Scene - Tahini (1080p; 1:38)

• High Jinks (1080p; 1:09) is a kind of silly music video with various cast members doing goofy stuff.


• Enhanced Sing Alongs (1080p; 46:37) offer stylized lyrics on screen to help folks sing along with "Thank You For the Music", "When I Kissed the Teacher", "One of Us", "Waterloo", "S.O.S", "Why Did It Have to be Me?" and "I Have a Dream".


• The Story (1080p; 5:33) gets into some of the history of the "franchise", including the contributions of Judy Craymer.


• Mamma Mia! Reunited (1080p; 3:33) focuses on the long gestating sequel.


• Playing Donna (1080p; 2:28) features Lily James and Meryl Streep discussing the role.


• Sophie's Story (1080p; 3:30) features various cast members singing the praises of Amanda Seyfried.


• Meeting Cher (1080p; 3:43) focuses on guess who. Meryl contributes a kind of hilarious if brief impersonation.


• Costumes and the Dynamos (1080p; 4:59) gets into the seventies look of the flashback scenes.


• Choreographing Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again (1080p; 7:25) profiles Anthony Van Laast.


• Cast Meets Cast

  Tanya Meets Tanya (1080p; 3:10) features Christine Baranski and Jessica Keenan Wynn.

  
  

  Rosie Meets Rosie (1080p; 3:15) features Julie Walters and Alexa Davies.

• Curtain Call (1080p; 3:59) looks at the "Super Trouper" closer.


• Dancing Queen: Anatomy of a Scene (1080p; 3:26)


• Cast Chats

  Dynamo Chit-Chat (1080p; 2:42) features the trio of "young" Dynamos.

  
  

  Dad Chat (1080p; 2:19) features the trio of "young" Dads.

• Performing for Legends (1080p; 2:46) features the cast discussing ABBA.


• Class of '79 (1080p; 3:48) looks at the challenges of younger actors portraying earlier versions of characters essayed by some pretty iconic actors.


• Today Interview with Cher and Judy Craymer (1080i; 4:35) is conducted by Kathie Lee Gifford.


• Feature Commentary with Director/Screenplay Writer Ol Parker


• Feature Commentary with Producer Judy Craymer

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're something of a musical geek (admitted or otherwise), it can often be a fascinating exercise to compare how different writers adapt the same story. There are manifest differences, for example, between Andrew Lloyd Webber's insanely successful The Phantom of the Opera and another, lesser known, adaptation by Nine's composer-lyricist Maury Yeston, entitled simply Phantom, to cite just one example. Those interested may well want to track down the CD version of Carmelina, recorded many years after the show closed (and without all of its original Broadway cast), though in looking online, it's fairly spendy. There are a few tunes from the score in various versions available on YouTube, including some with original Broadway star Georgia Brown. Those content to sit back and let the pop confections of ABBA spill through their speakers may be more than satisfied to stick with either Mamma Mia! or this follow up. Much like the music itself, Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again is largely irresistible, despite the fact some may feel they're gorging on fairly empty calories. Technical merits are first rate, the supplementary package extensive, and Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again comes Recommended.