Muriel's Wedding (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette), resident of the small, uneventful town of Porpoise Spit, Australia, is a hopeless romantic. Lonely, misunderstood & overweight, Muriel spends her days locked in the solitude of her bedroom; listening obsessively to ABBA songs ... dreaming of the day she'll wear a white wedding dress. And her walls are littered with both posters of ABBA members, & photos of brides-to-be. You see, Muriel's reason for living in this fantasy world is that her personal & family life is depressing as Hell. Her slovenly sisters & brothers spend all day sitting in front of the boob tube like couch potatoes. Her mom, Betty (Jeane Drynan), is in her own world as well – seemingly oblivious to everything around her, good or bad.
And Muriel's a-hole father (Bill Hunter) deems her the most 'useless' of his entire family. On top of all this, her extremely bitchy 'friends' call her an embarrassment; telling her that they don't even want her to come with them on tropical holiday. Determined to not be trampled on (literally & figuratively), Muriel steals some $$ from her family, follows her 'friends' on their vacation, meets a new, eccentric friend named Rhonda (a GREAT Rachel Griffiths; hilarious & nuanced when need be), moves to the big city of Sydney, searches for the man of her dreams, changes her name to Mariel, & gets her world turned completely upside down. Chaos ensues; lots of ups, & some devastating downs.
Australia has been cranking out some oddly endearing, but mainly odd films, of late. Strictly Ballroom & The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were wildly fun & wonderfully strange. Not 'great', but wonderfully strange, nevertheless. 'Muriel's Wedding' (written & directed by P.J. Hogan) initially appears to be something light & comedic - and trust me, there are lots of hilarious moments (including a great lip-synch of ABBA's 'Waterloo' by Muriel & Rhonda; Muriel trying on wedding dresses to 'Dancing Queen'; & a hysterical scene where Muriel & a boy try to have sex, but the sofa cushion explodes -- Ha! I'm laughing out loud just thinking about it). But viewer MUST be warned that there is, not only a mean-spiritedness to the proceedings, but hostility, despair & tragedy, as well.
The balance of humor, fun, viciousness & sadness is not always even. A delirious comedy about a sad woman doesn't sound too pleasing. Still, I must commend the film for being … different. 'Muriel's Wedding' is, like Muriel herself, an odd duck. But it's intangibly likeable amid all the misery. And I enjoyed the vast cast; even the smaller roles (like Muriel's wicked sister). Toni Collette is simply fantastic as a woman whose self-hatred of herself leads her wanting to change. She changes. And then she realizes that it's better to be true to one's self than it is to reach for unattainable stars. Too many people crash & burn attempting to be something they're not. Much of the success of the film rests on Collette -- big thumbs up for her & the film.
And Muriel's a-hole father (Bill Hunter) deems her the most 'useless' of his entire family. On top of all this, her extremely bitchy 'friends' call her an embarrassment; telling her that they don't even want her to come with them on tropical holiday. Determined to not be trampled on (literally & figuratively), Muriel steals some $$ from her family, follows her 'friends' on their vacation, meets a new, eccentric friend named Rhonda (a GREAT Rachel Griffiths; hilarious & nuanced when need be), moves to the big city of Sydney, searches for the man of her dreams, changes her name to Mariel, & gets her world turned completely upside down. Chaos ensues; lots of ups, & some devastating downs.
Australia has been cranking out some oddly endearing, but mainly odd films, of late. Strictly Ballroom & The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were wildly fun & wonderfully strange. Not 'great', but wonderfully strange, nevertheless. 'Muriel's Wedding' (written & directed by P.J. Hogan) initially appears to be something light & comedic - and trust me, there are lots of hilarious moments (including a great lip-synch of ABBA's 'Waterloo' by Muriel & Rhonda; Muriel trying on wedding dresses to 'Dancing Queen'; & a hysterical scene where Muriel & a boy try to have sex, but the sofa cushion explodes -- Ha! I'm laughing out loud just thinking about it). But viewer MUST be warned that there is, not only a mean-spiritedness to the proceedings, but hostility, despair & tragedy, as well.
The balance of humor, fun, viciousness & sadness is not always even. A delirious comedy about a sad woman doesn't sound too pleasing. Still, I must commend the film for being … different. 'Muriel's Wedding' is, like Muriel herself, an odd duck. But it's intangibly likeable amid all the misery. And I enjoyed the vast cast; even the smaller roles (like Muriel's wicked sister). Toni Collette is simply fantastic as a woman whose self-hatred of herself leads her wanting to change. She changes. And then she realizes that it's better to be true to one's self than it is to reach for unattainable stars. Too many people crash & burn attempting to be something they're not. Much of the success of the film rests on Collette -- big thumbs up for her & the film.