The movies Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again are two movies I enjoy, because of the sheer musical entertainment they provide. I re-watch them frequently.
There is a downside for me in watching a movie so many times that I eventually fixate on the plot holes, plot inconsistencies, general goofs, and so on. This doesn’t necessarily take away from my enjoyment, and it certainly doesn’t keep me from continuing to re-watch movies.
Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again are rife with plot holes and plot inconsistencies that I won’t go into here. The plethora of discussions and commentaries about these plot problems are easily found with an Internet search.
However, I do have #MondayMusings thoughts about a specific plot situation for which I haven’t found any discussion out there in Internet land.
In Mamma Mia!, we learn that Donna Sheridan’s mother, Ruby Sheridan, was never in the running for a Mother of the Year award. In fact, Ruby was apparently a mean-spirited, absent mother of some wealth.
We also learn that when Donna became pregnant with Sophie, Ruby told her ‘not to bother coming back’.
Hold that thought…
In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, we meet a mysterious man named Fernando Cienfuegos. When Ruby shows up at the hotel’s grand re-opening, we learn that Ruby and Fernando have a history…an implied intimate relationship.
Hang in here with me…
Donna’s last name is Sheridan. Her mother’s last name is Sheridan. Is ‘Sheridan’ Ruby’s maiden name or was she married to Donna’s dad, Mr. Sheridan, and she kept her maiden name? Or did Ruby and Mr. Sheridan divorce, and Ruby kept the last name of Sheridan? If Mr. Sheridan is Donna’s dad, why was he never in Donna’s life? Did Donna not wonder who her father was, just as Sophie wonders who her father is? Did Donna not wonder if her parents had been married?
With the implication that Fernando Cienfuegos and Ruby Sheridan were romantically involved, we can make the logical leap that Fernando is Donna’s father. We are left to surmise why Fernando was never a part of Donna’s life.
Therein lies my issue…
If we are to deduce that Fernando and Ruby were never married, but Donna was a result of their relationship, then Donna was born out of wedlock.
Why, then, WHY did Ruby disown Donna when she was pregnant with a child out of wedlock? Seems rather hypocritical in the extreme to me.
Inquiring minds want to know. 😉
Theories, anyone? (other than both movies would have won Oscars in the category of Most Numerous Plot Inconsistencies in a movie, if that were a thing)
Because I adore this scene from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and it redeems the entire movie, here is Cher singing ABBA’s Fernando to Andy Garcia who plays Fernando.
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Lasterday Stories
writing through history one romance upon a time