Is it possible to imagine the world before musicals? The feeling of being filled up with the goodness of life until not only do you burst into song, but the world around you starts dancing, too, is such an essential component of human existence that it’s no surprise it was invented by the Greeks, who also gave us democracy and Plato and now provide the sun-kissed locations for “Mamma Mia!” the movie version of the blockbuster Broadway musical based on the ABBA songbook.

On a glossy Greek isle, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is getting married and she wants her father to give her away. The only catch is that her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), did quite a bit of sleeping around in the ’60s, and her father could be any of three possible candidates, none of whom she’s ever seen before. There’s Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård to choose from, and so Sophie secretly invites them all to her wedding, blithely assuming that she’ll know her real father the second she lays eyes on him. Complications, needless to say, ensue.