MANILA, Philippines -- My family used to own one of those huge wooden turntables made by Akai that played the original vinyl records (fondly called plaka). On Sundays, my parents would put in an ABBA record and play the entire album continuously. Then I was given the privilege of turning the record to its other side and putting the needle back. It was one of the fondest memories back in the days before CDs.

OK, so it shows how old I am but you get my point. I'm sure half the population of thirtysomething people would have sung one or two songs from ABBA. In fact the group is still popular even after nearly three decades, with some of their songs, particularly "Dancing Queen," still a staple among videoke bars. The group was such a phenomenon in those years that even after they have bade adieu to millions of fans, ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus created a musical based on the songs they wrote for the group. Luckily for ABBA fans here in the Philippines, we have the movie version of the stage musical to enjoy, days ahead of the US release.

This writer has tried to keep spoilers to a minimum in this review, but stop reading if you don't want anything spoiled for you.

Though I've never watched the musical, a quick visit to its official website showed that the movie stuck true to the original form, down to the sequences of the songs and some of the choreographed dances. Andersson and Ulvaeus were on board to work as co-producers in the film and were also responsible for the musical score. Tom Hanks also lent a hand to develop the musical into its slightly shorter version. Even the musical's director, Phyllida Lloyd, also directed the film to ensure that the movie was a perfect replica of the musical.

"Mamma" Mia stars Meryl Streep as Donna, the mother of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who is getting married to her boyfriend Sky (Dominic Cooper). However, Sophie feels that she is missing an important part of her life and so invites three men, one of whom she thinks is her father. Sam Carmichael (played by former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan), Harry Bright (Colin Firth) and Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard) arrive at Donna and Sophie's Greek island not knowing that one of them could have fathered Sophie during one summer adventure with Donna 20 years ago.

The story is as plain as most love stories could go, with much of the fanfare coming from the choreographed song-and-dance segments. For a while, I let go of trying to analyze every scene in the film for criticism's sake and just enjoy the music. However, the clichéd story is somewhat contrived. Only some comical segments, such as the first meeting of the three men and the scene where they face Donna, gave the film the semblance of a stage musical. If the movie was based on the musical, then it would be within reason to say that the story was pieced together, albeit loosely, using the lyrics of the songs.

The song-and-dance segments in "Mamma Mia" remind me of older generations of movie musicals such as "The Sound of Music" and "The King and I," which in those days were colorfully done to complement the scene. However, some of the scenes here were overdone, especially Donna's (Streep) rendering of the songs "Dancing Queen," "Mamma Mia," and "Winner Takes It All," the last being a bit prolonged that it seemed Donna was straining to finish the song than relaying the message to a distressed Sam (Brosnan). Nevertheless, Streep still succeeded in putting a good show with "Super Trouper" and "Money, Money, Money."

The other actors, particularly Seyfried, look cute singing some of the songs that seem to appeal to younger people, particularly "I Have a Dream," "Honey, Honey," "Lay All Your Love on Me," and "The Name of the Game." There are more than a dozen ABBA songs splashed throughout the movie's nearly two-hour run, all of them memorable and fun. Firth, Brosnan, and Skarsgard had their share of some singing but it's hard to believe that they could hit even flat notes, especially Brosnan who continuously keeps a sophisticated style typical of the character he plays in other movies.

Still, "Mamma Mia!" is a movie that would bring older people (like me) back to the days of the plaka./em> Despite some needed fine-tuning with the acting it's still worth watching. This movie brings back good memories of ABBA as well as the golden years of movie musicals. Certainly, it will create a new generation of ABBA fans.