Walking on Sunshine

So we have the usual beautiful village in Italy, Check. A romance in said land with hunks and heart broken lady kinds, Check. Maddie and Raf are their names and as such they are modern and cool ish... Then we have a sister Taylor, thrown into the mix, who has a history with place and said male face. So what will happen to these love birds and planned wedding that must hit a bump or two.

Walking on sunshine is that sequel to Mamma Mia that we some wanted but all were afraid to ask about. It has the formula right, well known music + famous-ish faces + soft comedy= gold! Where it has got to recalculate it's formula is simple. I felt that its aggressive exploitation of these components insulted a very keen audience.

Music and dancing are great unifying tools. They bring many in just to see the combinations of sets, costumes and dance moves. These will be all under scrutiny like a Busby Berkeley musical was.Walking does these marginally well, lacking the range and depth of an ABBA score and instead dipping into a splash of 80s belters. These we mostly all know and love a little but here the steal of credibility is a little naughty!

Now in order for an audience to be fully committed it must also have the bare bones of a story we can cling to. We need a plot that rolls along and informs us. Sadly in this endeavor this isn't just lacking, it is literally completly absent. The story is so paper thin that I can see my neighbours naked behind its wall.

This coupled with the dire acting from everyone and you might cry out but I have to say some positives here! The direction in the dance sequences is very good. It has energy and dynamic moves. These are well worth a watch on their own but added to the excellent musical arrangements, they zing. Now in the end this is all you really want from a film like this. It must, neigh, should be only about some good tunes that are played out for you to smile and feel a little warmth from. Little more than that is needed and given...