We might admire the breathless audacity, if not the morning-after wisdom, of the casting: In trying to think of a worse choice than Pierce Brosnan as the male star of a pop musical, the only name I could come up with is Dan Rather.

On the other hand, there's Meryl Streep, who comes close (but no cigar) to redeeming this lavish film version of "Mamma Mia!," the Broadway sensation crammed full of songs by ABBA --Swedish hitmakers of the 1970s and '80s.

The tale tailored to ABBA'S tunes concerns a mother-daughter and father-triad relationship, set on an idyllic Greek island, where ex-hippie Donna (Streep) runs a quaintly dilapidated Mediterranean inn with the help of doe-eyed daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who is about to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper).

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'Mamma Mia'

2 1/2 stars = Average
Ratings explained

• Starring: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried
• Rating: PG-13 for some sex-related comments.
• Web site: 'Mamma Mia!'

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You'd think Sophie would be worrying about Sky's issues, but no. She's worried about who her father is -- which of her mom's ancient (and brief) boyfriends: dashing Sam (Brosnan), free-spirit Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) or uptight Harry (Colin Firth). The only way to find out is to invite all three to her Little Wee Greek Wedding, and see what they and their vibes reveal.

Mamma Donna has no clue of this. She's busy angsting over her baby's departure from the nest and reuniting with her special-guest bosom buddies: raucous Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski), former bandmates in Donna and the Dynamos.

Much music and chaos result. Phyllida Lloyd, who directed the original stage show at Broadway's Winter Garden in 2001, also does so here, but it takes her (and us) a while to adjust to movie-musical conventions. She is not aided by Anthony Van Laast's frenetic choreography that has Streep running and writhing on a roof while trying to sing the title song. It gets better in the dueling bachelor and bachelorette parties, when all the cast members and subplots converge for a dance extravaganza featuring lots of Chippendale Rockets (male Rockettes). Talk about beefcake -- and this just in: Cooper as Sky, who spends virtually the whole movie in swimsuit, confessed to getting a little boost in the form of his "padded, armoured Speedo."

Two of the three golden girls are over-the-top caricatures, and, though Baranski's a great dancer, the trio is weirdly mismatched. But Streep, at 59, is a lithe, youngish miracle -- not just a terrific actress, as we know, but becoming a helluva singer, as we glimpsed in last year's "Prairie Home Companion," with a touch of Bonnie Raitt in her mellow mezzo. When they just let her stand and sing, she sells it -- especially well in the lovely "Slipping Through My Fingers" duet with Seyfried (Lindsay Lohan's "Mean Girls" co-star, who has a fine voice of her own). Streep reportedly did her amazing vocal track for "The Winner Takes it All" in a single take and did her own midair splits (no body double) in the "Dancing Queen" scene.

To like this film, you've gotta love ABBA songs (composed by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson) -- a lot. Those who do, and who stick around through the final credits, will be rewarded with a surprise encore that just might be the best number in the show.

But you can't leave the iceberg totally out of the Titanic story, and we've delayed talking about Brosnan as long as humanly and critically possible. He's almost singlehandedly responsible for the "camp classic" disaster this picture is destined to be. When he first breaks into song, a ripple of laughter turned into a wave at the preview screening. It's not just the quality but the ghastly quantity of his songs.

Newsflash: Brosnan says he had such a good time making "Mamma Mia" that he wants to create and star in a stage production about Bruce Springsteen.

Stop this man before he kills (a musical) again!