Mum, look!

Sophie is getting married! On the small Greek island where she and her mother Donna run a somewhat run-down hotel, preparations are in full swing. But the bride has her own plans: she wants her father – whom she has never met – to walk her down the aisle. The problem? According to Donna’s diary, there are no fewer than three potential fathers. On the spur of the moment, Sophie invites all three on her mother’s behalf – and in doing so sets off a chain reaction in which, amidst elaborate beach party choreographies, intimate mother-daughter conversations and wild ‘Donna and the Dynamos’ impromptu concerts. 109 minutes of pure delight, in which the star-studded cast – Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters and Christine Baransky – take neither themselves nor their singing skills particularly seriously and are simply having a visible good time. Which, of course, doesn’t stop the one and only Meryl Streep from taking it up a notch: she playfully balances wonderfully shrill overacting with subtle restraint – and, almost as an afterthought, outshines everyone else. (lf)