Mamma Mia!

Sophie Sheridan has grown up on the sun-bleached Greek island of Kalokairi, helping her mother Donna run a ramshackle taverna. Now she's engaged to Sky, a London boy she met on holiday, and the wedding is days away. But there's a hole in her story: she doesn't know who her father is. Donna has always refused to talk about it. So Sophie does what any determined twenty-year-old would do: she digs out her mother's old diary, finds the names of three men from one summer twenty-one years ago, and secretly invites them all to the wedding.

What follows is a collision of past and present. Sam, Harry, and Bill arrive on the island, each believing they might be Sophie's father. Donna, played by Meryl Streep with fearless comic energy, is horrified to see them. Her best friends from her disco days, Tanya and Rosie, are thrilled. The men, played by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård, bring their own baggage. The film, directed by Phyllida Lloyd in her feature debut, is a jukebox musical built around ABBA's catalog. It opened in July 2008 and became a surprise global hit, grossing over $600 million against a $52 million budget.[edit]

Sophie Sheridan lives with her mother Donna on the Greek island of Kalokairi, where Donna runs a small taverna. Sophie is twenty, engaged to Sky, a young man from London, and their wedding is planned for the coming weekend. She has never known her father. Donna has always brushed off the question, saying she had a wonderful summer and that's all that matters.

Sophie finds Donna's old diary hidden away. It describes a whirlwind summer twenty-one years ago, when Donna was twenty and working as a tour guide. She had three lovers in quick succession: Sam Carmichael, an Irish architect; Harry Bright, a British banker; and Bill Anderson, a Swedish writer and adventurer. Sophie writes to each of them, signing the letter "Your daughter" and inviting them to her wedding, without telling Donna.

Donna is busy preparing for the wedding with her two best friends, Tanya and Rosie, who were her bandmates in the 1970s girl group Donna and the Dynamos. Tanya is a wealthy, twice-divorced socialite. Rosie is a loud, unmarried cookbook author. They arrive to help, and the three women reminisce and sing, unaware of the storm coming.

The first to arrive is Harry Bright, a mild-mannered banker. Then Bill Anderson, a rugged travel writer. Finally Sam Carmichael, who Donna loved most deeply and who left her without explanation. Donna is shocked and furious. She confronts Sophie, who pretends the men are friends of Sky's. The three men settle into island life, each bonding with Sophie in different ways. Harry is awkward but kind. Bill is adventurous and takes Sophie sailing. Sam is warm and emotionally open.

Sky grows suspicious. He notices Sophie's tension and the way the older men hover around her. Tensions rise when Donna and Sam have a heated reunion. She still loves him, but she's angry. He reveals he did come back for her, years ago, but she had already moved on. Meanwhile, Rosie pursues Bill, and Tanya fends off a much younger admirer.

The story unfolds through ABBA songs performed by the cast. Sophie sings "Honey, Honey" as she writes the letters. Donna belts "Mamma Mia" in frustration when the men arrive. The Dynamos reunite for "Dancing Queen" on the taverna terrace. The three potential fathers sing "Our Last Summer" to Sophie, each remembering their time with Donna. The island becomes a pressure cooker of secrets, old wounds, and new connections.

As the wedding day approaches, Sophie's plan unravels. Sky confronts her, and she admits she invited the men to find her father. Sky is hurt that she kept it from him. Donna, too, learns the truth from Sophie. The wedding is hours away, and no one knows who the father is. The men themselves are uncertain. The morning of the wedding, Sophie sits alone on the beach, looking out at the sea, unsure what to do.[edit]