By that reckoning, Meryl Streep again proves her greatness in "Mamma Mia!," because she enlivens this creakily constructed musical.

Streep is radiant as Donna Sheridan, a onetime wild child running a dilapidated hotel on a sun-drenched Greek island - and nervously preparing for the wedding of her daughter, Sophie (charmingly played by "Big Love's" Amanda Seyfried), and the hunky Sky (Dominic Cooper, from "The History Boys"). Sophie has discovered the names of Donna's three former lovers - Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård) - and has secretly invited them to the wedding in hopes of discovering which one is her father.

Donna reacts by doing what everyone on this Greek island does: She sings her heart out to the songs of the chart-topping Swedish group ABBA. She tells her old friends Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) about the hotel's financial woes to the tune of "Money, Money, Money." She confronts her old feelings for the three men with "Mamma Mia" and sings of her liberated past as a "Dancing Queen."

Streep is in good voice. No surprise, since she sang well in "Postcards From the Edge" and "A Prairie Home Companion." Besides, this woman comes prepared, and to act with a singing voice is little different from acting with an accent. When she tackles a ballad like "The Winner Takes It All," sung as a mournful kiss-off to an old lover, she delivers it with a passion Celine Dion would envy.

The women keep up well with Streep - Seyfried is charming in the ingénue role, Baranski has a fun time with "Does Your Mother Know?" and Walters (Mrs. Weasley from the "Harry Potter" films) steals the finale. The menfolk are left in the dust, particularly Brosnan, whose thin voice strains as he tries to belt out "S.O.S."

Straining even harder are director Phyllida Lloyd and screenwriter Catherine Johnson, the creative team who first put "Mamma Mia!" onstage in 2001. They're new to movies and make the critical mistake of not adapting the story to fit the screen. The enterprise feels stagebound, with unflattering lighting choices, dead spots between musical numbers and show-stoppers that never get started again. Without Streep front and center, this "Mamma Mia!" wouldn't be worth taking a chance on.

Sean P. Means can be reached at movies@sltrib.com or 801-257-8602. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Mamma Mia!

Where Theaters everywhere.

When Opens today.

Rating PG-13 for some sex-related comments.

Running time 108 minutes.

Bottom line In bringing this lackluster musical to life, Meryl Streep shows she's a super trouper.