Muriel

It's quite a while since I'd seen Muriel's Wedding, and it remains to me a strangely satisfying film despite the inherent sadness of the plot and the unlovable nature of many of the characters and themes. To me, picking the jaunty Abba songs was a masterstroke, because it lightened the tone considerably, provided a backdrop that nearly everyone seeing the film would know and most would relate to positively.

Toni Collette demonstrated what an amazingly versatile actor she is, and the chemistry between her and Rachel Griffiths (Rhonda) to me is what makes the film. Bill Hunter (Bill Heslop) nails the awful unlovable Aussie blokey father role, which provides a rationale for how the premise of the film arose. It provides a lot of issues to think about, from the scheming local councillor Heslop, through Muriel's high school "friends" to the South African Olympic swimmer who needed an Aussie bride to become an Australian citizen and be able to leave South Africa.

It put director PJ Hogan on the map, was a box office and critical success, as well as establishing Toni Collette. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh with 3.5 stars.

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's Wedding is a feel good movie for the outcasts of the world. That means most people of course. At some time in our lives we all feel like the one who is left out of everything. Muriel's life is like that. Her "friends" put her down constantly and her father reinforces it by telling her how useless she (and every other member of her family) is while boosting his own ego by bragging about his connections.

There is no life in Porpoise Spit for Muriel. So after a couple of catastrophic embarassments and a chance meeting with an old school chum and fellow outcast she moves to Sydney. There she reinvents herself and discovers that despite what has been said about her and some pretty bad things she has done she is still a good person. Muriel stumbles on the way but finally frees herself (as does her mother) from the oppression of her hometown, her father, and her life.

Muriel isn't a totally likeable character. She steals, lies, and at one point does a perfectly terrible thing to her only friend. In the end however, Muriel recognizes that despite her shortcoming, physical and spiritual, she isn't the worthless creature her classmates and father have told her she is. To the credit of the filmmaker's they didn't do a complete remake of Muriel in the film to make her a beauty at the end. She gets a better hair cut but for the most part the improvement on her looks comes from within.

Muriel's father on the other hand is a completely despicable man. A local politician who tries to impress everybody with his connections he also put considerable effort into the degradation of his wife and children. His motto, the same as the town of Porpoise Spit, is "You Can't Stop Progress" but he manages to stop the progress of everyone in his family except for Muriel.

This is a very enjoyable film and a good example of the idea that a movie doesn't have to be a big Hollywood production to be great. I'm glad that it was produced in Australia. If it had been done in France then Hollywood would have done a remake in English and probably ruined it.

Muriel's wedding is a solid work of Australian comedy, with great acting and a funny script, however I also found it a touch sad.

The film kept taking emotional turns, from hilarious to depressing. The main character, Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette), was funny in a very human way. She shows the audience a quirky, yet believable example of human fallibility, as the girl who never quite meets the standard. Muriel's character is defined by her inability to fit in - despite many attempts. She has a dysfunctional family and weird obsessions with Swedish pop group ABBA, and getting married.

All the characters play emotional roles, and the acting performance by Collette and Rachel Griffiths (as Muriels best friend), are inspirational.

I laughed a lot, but came away with a general sense of sadness about the emotional cruelty of human beings, and the suffering some people endure. I found the character of Muriel's mother particularly sad, but well acted.

Many people I've talked to hated this film, but it remains one of my favourite comedies. As someone who really enjoys Aussie films, I think this was one of the better ones.

I saw this film a thousand times and I have always loved it! Originally I watched this movie because I'm a big ABBA fan, but I found out it's not all about ABBA!

This film makes you feel happy and sad at the same time. The acting is superb, especially the mother of the main character.

Just great!

10 out of 10