Story
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the sequel to the 2008 hit musical movie Mamma Mia! Once again, the action takes place on the picturesque and idyllic Greek island of Kalokairi, where Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is mourning the sudden and unexpected death of her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep).
To honour her mother’s lifelong dream of creating a hotel in the rustic stone villa that sits above the village, Sophie has finally completed the renovations and now the Hotel Bella Donna is ready for a grand opening party. The movie weaves together this modern storyline with nostalgic flashbacks that tell the history of a younger Donna (Lily James), her arrival on the island in the 1970s, and her brief but very passionate romantic encounters with the men that we come to know as Sophie’s three fathers.
Themes
Motherhood; friendship; romance; sexuality; ageing
Violence
None of concern
Sexual references
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has frequent sexual references and innuendoes. For example:
- When Tanya sees Fernando for the first time, she looks at him seductively and whispers to her friend, ‘Be still my beating vagina’ and ‘Have him washed and brought to my tent’.
- Bill, one of Donna’s lovers, is trying to lure her into his bed. She says, ‘We only just met!’ He replies, ‘Oh! And you’re not that kind of girl?’ She replies, ‘Absolutely not … usually’.
- Characters kiss and embrace passionately. There’s also a lot of flirting.
- Tanya says to a good-looking man., ‘I just want to be upfront about how much I am visually enjoying you’.
- One of young Donna’s lovers talks about how he wants to spend the night with her, because it’s his ‘first time’ and he wants her to be the one.
- A Greek woman describes a man as ‘having so many notches on his bed post that his bed fell down’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again shows some use of substances. For example, many scenes show characters drinking alcohol.
Nudity and sexual activity
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- The young Donna has passionate love affairs with three different men. Although there are no explicit sex scenes, there are several scenes of semi-naked men lying in bed.
- Much of the choreographed dancing includes seductive and sexy dance moves, often with the dancers wearing tight, low-cut or revealing clothing.
Product placement
Nothing of concern
Coarse language
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a fun and light-hearted musical that celebrates the music of ABBA against a backdrop of beautiful Mediterranean scenery and cheesy nostalgic romance. The characters are all warm-hearted, empathetic and likeable, and the singing and dancing feels fresh and energetic.
The movie has a lot of sexual innuendo, which might concern some parents, so we recommend parental guidance for children under 13 years. There are also some scenes that might be scary for children under seven years.
The main messages from this movie are about:
- appreciation and celebration of relationships with friends and family
- the shared bonds of motherhood
- sexuality as a positive force.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include:
- responsible decision-making in relation to sexual relationships
- empathy and understanding between mothers and daughters
- the joy of singing, making music and dancing with others
- the importance of honesty and fidelity in romantic relationships.