Mamma Mia 2 is an Absurdist Masterpiece

it makes me feel like I am full of helium

0:00 introduction
1:27 1) the first scene
3:22 2) the entire conceit of the film
5:38 3) the graduation scene
9:05 4) setup and payoff
10:43 5) amanda and dominic's nightmare realm
14:19 6) why does this sequel exist?
15:59 7) everyone is having so! much! fun! shooting! this! movie!
17:09 8) musical numbers start like jumpscares
17:34 9) waterloo & diegesis
23:30 10) horse in the basement
25:52 11) they just redo songs that were in the first movie
26:56 12) dancing queen
32:36 13) the big payoff
34:37 14) Cher descending stairs
37:48 15) OH MY GOD IT'S MERYL STREEP
38:45 16) dance party!
39:32 conclusion

[sophiapainted]

the experience of watching this movie in a cinema for the first time is an unparalleled experience, like there was a collective gasp when they revealed meryl streep was dead and one lady audibly said NO

[talllankyguy]

Please for the love of god do not take this lightly, this is one of the most entertaining video essays i've seen in recent memory

[LeBlondeJames]

Saw Mamma Mia 2 in the theater (nearest to the hottest retirement town in the West Coast), and when Cher made her grand reveal, it was genuinely the Avengers Endgame equivalent for old people. They woke up, leapt out of their chairs and started screaming, putting every inch of youth those old hearts had left into celebrating and expressing their excitement for Cher. One of my favorite movie theater moments, above and beyond any hammer lifting, any Fast or Furious, and for sure any Expendables antics.

[ImJustHereToHaveAGoodTime]

I still have yet to forgive Meryl Streep for sitting out what to me was a pretty mediocre movie and then showing up in the last five minutes to ruin my life and give me an emotional reaction that I’m still discussing with my therapist

[octodaddy]

I find it so paradoxically bizarre that this movie prioritizes having a good time over every other aspect of itself, and yet it opens with the biggest downer in cinematic history and then proceeds to CONSTANTLY remind you about it for two hours straight

[ylrahc]

I also love that Cher is only three years older than Meryl Streep even though she plays her mother. And that that somehow just works and does not bother the mamma mia universe one bit

[Sharieflove]

The horse thing made me laugh so hard but it also made me a bit mad because like.... that horse is not in distress. Face relaxed, ears forward, looking at its trainer rearing up going "ARE YOU SEEING ME? AM I DOING GOOD?"

It's doing so good and I'm so proud of it.

[emma-xtiy]

My favorite part was that donna’s friends have had the same haircut for 30(?) years

[justk]

My only critique of MMHWGA is that all of the boys looked way too modern and normal. The original showed Donna remembering them as super 70’s mustached guys. They looked so tame it took me a minute each time to realise they were the three love interests. 10/10 video essay

[matthewlebo]

It’s a romcom without a clear romantic direction or leads. It has nothing to say, and it says that the most fun way possible. It has no right to make me cry like that. Goddamn, I love this movie.

[serenaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Agreed, this is an incredible video essay, but you didn't mention the truly insane throwaway bits where Stellan Skarsgard plays Bill's brother in a fatsuit *pretending* to be Bill to accept some award for him, or the ageless/immortal dockworker who flirts with Harry? This movie terrifies and delights me, its narrative choices and visual aesthetics have burrowed in my head and laid eggs

[emmahobbs]

I would like to also add to this bizarreness that I met a guy who plays a baker in the background for this film and the literal only reason he plays a baker is bc he was the baker in the live action Beauty and the beast. They have a whole shot of him carrying bread entirely for that reason.

[Braxiatel_Collection]

You don’t know how much I wish Cher had just played herself. She basically already did but like how insane and brilliant would it have been if the whole time Donna’s mother was actual Cher the whole time

[miatorres]

This is a 10/10 movie and a 10/10 video

[elizabethb]

Y'know, someone had to pitch the horse scene. Someone in the writers room sat everyone down and was like, "so there's a horse in the basement, and it's scared, and Donna is gonna calm it down, and then an old Greek lady is gonna let her live in her house rent free forever cuz she's nice to the horse, and that horse's name? That horse's name is Hector"
And everyone agreed that that scene needed to be in the script, that it was a very normal scene for their movie to have.

[narial]

It's like the old generation/theater kid equivalent of the fast and furious franchise. You don't question anything because nothing actually makes sense. You just enjoy the ride, the visuals, the energy, and the actors (and songs)

[madinp]

I was in disbelief from the start of the film by the choice to make Donna a valedictorian at Oxford. We don't have valedictorians in the UK?!?!?!? You couldn't do the tiniest bit of research??

[dnygma]

I saw this while on vacation at the Croatian island Vis where they filmed the "Greek" outdoor scenes for this one. it was insane. they aired this movie at an outdoor cinema and they audience was half locals, half tourists. the experience of watching the locals cheer at the most random moments because one of their houses was shown truly added to the madness (mood tho)

[cryptidrecording]

I never saw the original Mama Mia, so my grandmother taking me to this was like entering a strange metaphysical music montage with like the most bland plot doing the most outlandish and insane movement to speak those normal boring plot beats. It floored me. I adored it. I’ve been thinking of Waterloo for over 5 years. It’s crazy how good it HIT.

[amandacrandell]

They made amanda and dom seem like they were rooms away while being literal countries away but couldn’t make Cher and Andy who are actually supposed to be close feel universes away. That’s some real talent