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It’s a great idea to make a musical based on the work of ABBA. Sure, they’re cheesy and wear space boots, but the Swedish quartet is responsible for some of the most persistent earworms in pop culture history. Having some of those songs be sung by Pierce Brosnan, a man whose seemingly unending attractiveness finds its limit in his vocal abilities, is a terrible idea. And yet, every time he belts out a line in his ungodly talk/sing hybrid, Mamma Mia! feels magical.
In short, Mamma Mia! operates according to its own rules. So in any other case, news that a studio head will do whatever it takes to get a beloved actor to return to a franchise that she’s left, cinephiles would cringe in horror. But since it’s Universal Pictures Chairwoman Donna Langley telling Deadline Hollywood (via EW) that she will “we will find a way” to bring back Meryl Streep for Mamma Mia 3, we can’t wait to see the wonderful mess that will follow.
Based on the jukebox musical by Catherine Johnson, the 2008 film Mamma Mia! starred Streep as Donna Sheridan, mother of bride-to-be Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). In advance of her nuptials, Sophie invites three men from her mother’s past to the Greek island where the ceremony takes place, hoping that one of them will reveal themselves to be her father. The men include upscale architect Sam Carmichael (Brosnan), free-spirit sailor Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård), and tightly-wound banker Harry Bright (Colin Firth).
Singing of varying quality and lots of hijinks ensue, to be sure, but so does genuine emotional depth, thanks largely to Streep’s ability to ground Donna as she recalls her relationship with each man. She never overdoes it, never overwhelms the silliness of the story, but gives it the right amount of heft.
So integral was Streep to the success of the first movie, that the idea of a sequel without her seemed completely foolish. And yet, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again came to theaters in June 2018 with only a Streep cameo, and still managed to delight viewers. The film used a flashback structure borrowed from The Godfather: Part II to contrast Sophie in the present to Donna in 1979, where she was portrayed by Lily James.
Unwise? Yes. Incredible fun? Absolutely.
That should be the prime lesson as we look forward to a third Mamma Mia! film, nearly a full decade after Here We Go Again. Clearly, Streep has moved on from the series. Moreover, a now 40-year-old Seyfried would have to play a Sophie with very different problems than her wide-eyed newlywed. Could a musical as frothy as Mamma Mia! be able to handle heavy issues such as the movement into middle age and the weight of death?
To that question, I respond with one of my own: “Can Pierce Brosnan sing?”
The answer to both is obviously, “No.” But Mamma Mia! has never concerned itself with good taste before, and we’re all the better for it.
Mamma Mia 3 isn’t happening yet. But it should.
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