Muriel's Wedding (1995)

Am I Missing Something?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Muriel's WeddingThe best thing about wedding season in Australian is that it's winter so your summers aren't completely ruined.Desperate to escape her overbearing parents (Bill Hunter, Jeanie Drynan), hopeless romantic and ABBA super-fan Muriel (Toni Collette) steals money from them and goes on a tropical vacation.She returns home a new woman and gets a flat and roommate (Rachel Griffiths). But these lifestyle changes don't keep her life from falling apart. And as her parents split, her friend gets ill and she drowns in debt, Muriel must grow up in order to stay afloat.More depressing drama than laugh-out-loud comedy, this 1994 sleeper hit from Down Under deals with the harsh realities of becoming an adult, but manages to soften their edges with dark-humor and an up-tempo soundtrack dominated by the aforementioned Swedish pop group.Incidentally, always seat your Australian wedding guests as far from the gift table as possible.Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

This is truly a great Australian film, and still holds up after all these years. The film has always hit a nerve with me in terms of the Heslop's family dynamics (Mum, make Dad a cup of tea!). I can only speak for myself but I grew up in Queensland around the same time (I am aware this was made in New South Wales) and my experience with my family definitely resonates with that of Muriel's with her family. I really thought at the time this came out that this type of family dysfunction was 'an Aussie thing', but I know better than that now that I am older and wiser. I've never thought of this as a comedy although it has some very funny moments. Even now, I have to be in the mood for Muriel's Wedding due to it's brutally harsh treatment of it's characters. The film is vicious and unrelenting and has made me cry more than once. But it's also a cathartic experience, about a person with flaws like all of us, who is trying to find her own identity, and, despite what she has been conditioned to believe, that she is worthy.

Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) is the fat ridiculed girl. She catches the wedding bouquet and all the girls pressure her to give it up. Her family is a bunch of lay-abouts. Her father Bill is a bully and her mother is a pushover. Bill is a corrupt local politician in Porpoise Spit, Australia. Muriel daydreams, lies and steals. Deidre Chambers offers a job and her mother gives her a blank cheque to be paid to Deidre. Instead Muriel uses it for a vacation and finding a husband. She is spotted by Rhonda Epinstalk (Rachel Griffiths) from her childhood. She decides to run away to Syndey where she lives with Rhonda. Bill walks out on the family and is under investigation. Rhonda becomes a paraplegic from a tumor.This is such a quirky funny Australian indie filled with dark wacky characters. It is such an odd unique movie. The humor comes from anger and mostly unlikeable characters. Muriel is not a normal character. She's insanely clingy, secretly bitter and outwardly delusional. The only normal character is Epinstalk and she faces some real darkness. The whole movie has a lot of darkness. There is a good deal of both laughing at Muriel and along with Muriel. There is also something ABBA that fits the craziness. It is both cheesy and upbeat. It keeps the movie from crumbling under the weight of Muriel's behavior and the small mindedness. Things get quite dark but it never succumbs to it. The last half's tone turn dark and ends in a very uplifting feel.

Muriel (Toni Collette) is an overweight unattractive Australian girl who loves ABBA music. She hangs around with a bunch of attractive but vicious women who tell her off every chance they get. She then meets easy-going, friendly Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) and her life begins to change.SPOILERS!!!!! Sounds like a feel-good movie--right? WRONG! This has Muriel and some likable characters go through some incredibly horrible things again and again. For instance: Rhonda is very sexually active and (for no good reason) is crippled accidentally halfway through. Why? Because she happens to enjoy sex? Muriel's mother is treated by her husband like dirt...and she takes it. Muriel's friends have got to be the most vicious group of women I've EVER seen in any movie. Muriel meets a sweet guy who really likes her--but she dumps him to marry an attractive but empty-headed jock. That's only a few things. Again and again we're hit over the head with these depressing story turns. Seriously--what's the reason? The few good moments were blotted out by the negativity. After this was over I was utterly depressed and hated the movie. This only gets a two for the acting (Collette and Griffiths are great) and the ABBA music. But this is a seriously depressing, negative film.