'Mamma Mia! (PG-13)(out of four)

Meryl Streep does a split in mid-air after jumping up and down on an antique bed wearing overalls. But that isn't even half the surprise that Streep, the most accomplished female film actress alive today, has in store for film audiences in "Mamma Mia!"

As Donna in the movie musical adapted from the long-running London, Broadway and Las Vegas stage show and continuously touring production, Streep once again proves that she can take on any role, even one that requires some vocal athletics in the form of singing '70s pop band hits.

Agile at 59, Streep plays an American woman living on a small Greek Island. She runs a little hotel called Villa Donna and is the owner, handyman, turn-down service, and anything else that the inn requires. The story begins as her 20-year-old daughter, Sophie (wonderfully played by 22-year-old Amanda Seyfried), is getting ready for her wedding day. The trouble is, Sophie, doesn't know who her dad is and neither does her mother.

When Sophie snoops into her mother's diary, written some 20 years before, she finds the names of three men who may possibly be her long-lost father. She invites them to the small island to her wedding. When Bill, Sam and Harry (Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, respectively), show up after believing they've been flagged to the island by Donna, the confusion and festivities begin.

For anyone who hasn't seen the musical version, which has made its creators a few billion dollars since its inception in 1999, the delight will not only come from the realization that Streep really can carry a tune, but that someone was able to match the pop tart songs of ABBA to a story about family, friends and the eternal quest of human belonging.

Surrounded by a cast that despite their strength in numbers can't even begin to upstage the solid Streep, there are still some moments that give the supporting players their chance to shine. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters as Donna's best girlfriends and former backup singers (the Dynamos of Donna and the Dynamos) produce some of the most comic moments of the movie. Their rendition of "Super Trouper" with Streep at the center decked out in platform shoes and looking like David Bowie's "Space Oddity" is garishly outlandish. Big performances are a must for these roles and the girls deliver.

The male trio is able to add a bit of testosterone to this estrogen heavy cavalcade for a bit of relief. Singing isn't really their strong suit, however, and you have to give Brosnan a B for bravery as he struggles through "SOS." While Brosnan isn't the best singer, he produces a bit of Springsteen-esque appeal that makes it somewhat tolerable.

The integrity of the adaptation from stage to screen is helped by the fact that the same people directing, scripting and producing this "Mamma Mia!" are the same ones who did the spectacular stage show. Then there are the catchy songs that will no doubt have audiences singing along.

One word of advice: don't try to figure out the real math or timeline of the film with its references to Flower Power and other hippie references, yet talk of the Internet. How old was Donna, aka Streep, when she had Sophie, 39? And 20 years ago, if we are in present day, wouldn't that have been the late '80s, not the beatniks flashing peace signs we see in the film's sepia tone photos? And why is the music from the 1970s?

Regardless, it's probably best just to go along with "Mamma Mia's!" infectious wisdom, drink some Oozo and have a little summer fun. It's definitely one of the shiniest, happiest films to hit the big screen in a long time.