Mamma Mia!

A feel-good musical movie pulsating with Abba anthems, Mamma Mia has a top-notch cast and an extraordinarily silly plot. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are among the accomplished actors who try in vain to submerge you in a fantastically idyllic world in which there is a song for every occasion and even octogenarian Greek ladies can do a mean disco routine. There is a lot of over-acting and Brosnan, in particular, struggles to hit all his notes, but this film has an infectious, childlike enthusiasm and sense of fun. It also looks good - the Greek island setting is magical from the cliff-top church that stages the wedding to the dramatic coastal views from Donna's hotel where most of the two day plot plods along. But it is the interaction between the agonising Streep, the exuberant Walters and the preening Baranski that keeps you watching this wacky, but vacuous, film. 6/10