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.
