MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN:  A prequel?  A flashback?  I'm not really sure.  With the ads touting that everyone from the original cast is back on board (Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski and Dominic Cooper), I bought it and hoped for the best.   Then I'm told that adding to the mirth would be Cher and Lily James as the young Streep with Andy Garcia also (Are you with me so far?) Well, we got one big problem.   Most of the originals are now played by young actors doing imitations of what the originals would have been like in the past.  (Are you still with me?)  Meryl is only in the movie for about two minutes (unless you count the obligatory "Curtain Call" when all the characters sing and dance with each other to let your know which young actor played which old actor.)  It is all rather confusing to say the least.  Some of the musical numbers are quite rousing but the majority of the best ABBA songs were used in the original film so we get a lot of second rate tunes here...…….(They do revive the biggies and give Cher a golden moment near the end of the film.)  So....It is entertaining BUT not what I'd hoped for even though it's not a bad travelogue.  And the "Curtain Call" works so you leave thinking you got your money's worth.