Twenty-year-old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) grew up on a small Greek island and was raised by her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) who runs a resort that is crumbling with age. She is ready to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper) but is still troubled by not knowing who her father is. This quest is given new impetus when Sophie reads in her mother's dairy that three men may qualify to be her dad. She impulsively sends them invitations to her wedding and signs Donna's name. She doesn't tell her mother knowing that this would upset her.
As the wedding day approaches, the guests begin arriving on the island, including Sophie's two best friends and Donna's long-time buddies: Tanya (Christine Baranski), who enjoys flirting with young men, and Rosie (Julie Walters), a bestselling cookbook author. The three men meet en route. They are Harry (Colin Firth), a staid businessman; Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), a relaxed world traveler; and Sam (Pierce Brosnan), an architect. Sophie tries to keep them hidden from her mother but Donna discovers them and goes bonkers. This troubling encounter with her wild past and youthful hedonism sets her spinning. The men finally discover the reason they have been invited and respond in their own distinctive ways.
Phyllida Lloyd directs this light-hearted and playful musical which is carried by the snappy and happy songs of the Swedish group Abba. Meryl Streep proves her versatility and creativity as an actress who is willing and able to tackle any screen role. Her singing here is fine especially in "Slipping Through My Fingers" and "The Winner Takes It All." Some of the big production numbers — "Money, Money, Money," " Voulez-Vous," and "Does Your Mother Know" have fun with the island setting and really do justice to the lush vocals and orchestrations of Abba's pop tunes.
Special DVD features include sing-along on-screen lyrics for 22 musical numbers; a deleted musical number "The Name of the Game"; a feature commentary with director Phyllida Lloyd; the making of Mamma Mia! The Movie; anatomy of the musical number "Lay All Your Love on Me"; becoming a singer; behind the scenes with Amanda; on location in Greece; a look inside Mamma Mia! The Movie; a "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" music video; a Björn Ulvaeus cameo; and deleted scenes and outtakes.