If you're one of the thirty million odd people who've been to the stage production of this hit-strewn narrative and loved it...then you're going to love this too.

However, if you felt it was nothing more than a ropey storyline created to string a linear connection through a load of Abba’s greatest hits then you'll have a different perspective.

Where there is no doubt is that it's destined to become a Friday evening cinema staple, a midnight dress-up camp hen bash and the mainstream movie successor to the Rocky Horror Show.

Meryl Streep plays Donna, a Greek island taverna owner, whose daughter Sophie (Seyfried) is due to get married to hunky Sky (Cooper).

However, she's discovered mom's diary, which reveals that dad could be any one of three men - Pierce Brosnan's American architest Sam, Colin Firth's Brit banker Harry and Stellan Skarsgard's Swedish novelist Bill. She invites them to the nuptials. Cue the music.

This is set to become a DVD classic, sitting alongside the much-treasured copy of Dirty Dancing in a million homes.

But does that mean it’s a brilliant film? Absolutely not. It has a shockingly cheap set (the fake shimmering sea being a personal favourite) and over-the-top lighting.

This could have been deliberate to give it that ‘on stage’ feel but it wasn’t made obvious enough – it just looked like someone filmed a local am-dram…occasionally intercut with stunning aerial sequences of an island or the boat and some nice Greek island shores. Mainly it’s the echoey environs of Pinewood, Buckinghamshire that graces the screen.

Meryl doing a bit of a Kylie-writhe on the roof is impressive as is her classically-trained singing voice but step forward Pierce Brosnan for the hall of shame awards.

When he spontaneously bursts into song (sometimes with no warning whatsoever) all the audience can do is burst out laughing. It’s just all too much to take in.

Firth’s character coming out of the closet is an interesting amusement as is the deliciously camp Pricilla Queen Of The Desert-like post-credit roll entertainment.

Elswewhere, fiancees Seyfried and Cooper are perfectly sugar-coated, particularly the latter in a beach scene that will got down well in Old Compton Street as he concentrates on his physique rather than declaring love for his wife-to-be.

Dripping with nostalgia for a friend-filled, fun-loving youth of music and song… this movie’s going to be a financial success.

But be warned - it’s very much a filmed stage musical and not a film that happens to have a bit of music in it. Go. Laugh. Sing along. You know you want to...

Sinéad Hughes