VHS : Muriel's Wedding [1995]

Rating: - Talk About Getting Your Own Back!
It's only recently that i've seen Muriel's wedding, and i loved it to bits from start to finish. Its basically about a misfit Abba loving geek in her twenties that is going nowhere in life, but dreams of getting married one day, her popular friends have dumped her and it seems it's over for her until she meets Rhonda, and it takes off from there, they soon become best friends and find that they both have plenty in common, but the fun doesn't last long, Rhonda gets confined to a wheelchair due to the discovery that she has cancer, but things are still looking up for Muriel as she will soon be having a `fake' marriage to help a world champion, super fit swimmer win. It looks like her prayers have been answered (obviously not for him who is less than keen!). The wedding itself is really a dream come true for Muriel, the popular friends that pushed her away became her bridesmaids, there was tons of press attention, beautiful dress, there was just one person who wasn't happy, understandably that was Rhonda. So after the wedding Muriel divorces the swimmer that now generally wants to be with her, Muriel's dad announces he wants to divorce her mother, her mother later takes an overdose of pills and dies, the dad realises how much he actually needed her, but the final conclusion of the story is when Muriel visits Rhonda again and they both decide they will leave the city again away from their parents, as they did prior to the marriage, and before Rhonda discovered she had cancer. Really really excellent film, best film I've seen in ages. There's hope for the geeks yet! In my opinion, this film is totally unmissable and a true gem.

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Rating: - The 90's
I don't want to repeat what had already been written, but this quite simply is one of the greatest movies of the 90's. Watch it. Own it.

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Rating: - Muriel Steals Everything, Including Your Heart!
Muriel (Toni Collette) is an overweight, somewhat dense teenager who still loves ABBA and lives with an overweight somewhat dense family in Porpoise Spit, Australia. Dad is an incompetent and crooked local politician who belittles his family at every turn. Sounds like a real downer, huh? Throw in cruel girls, suicide and cancer and you'll have a real party! Right!? Director/Writer P. J. Hogan ("My Best Friend's Wedding") somehow manages to turn this screwball plot on its collective head and produces outrageous, hilarious scene after scene. Sure, Muriel is a loser until she gets together with Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) and the two of them party and get revenge on the nasty girls. Both characters are extremely charismatic and likeable in every scene. There's no sense in going into all the plot changes and twists; it just keeps getting better and better. There's a certain realistic pathos of humor to Hogan's script, which never feels false and certainly not contrived. His aim is to make the losers the winners and the winners the fall guys. He succeeds marvelously.

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Rating: - Muriel's Triumph
I wish I had never seen this film - so that I could see it now for the first tme!
Every actress has a defining role and this is Toni Collette's. In fact casting for the entire film is spot-on.
We meet Muriel/Mariel, the ugly duckling who thinks a wedding (to anyone) will transform her into a swan; her dysunctional family, and barbie-doll "friends". Its hilarious from start to finish though a few scenes are my particular favourite. Who could forget her incredulous husband-to-be's face as she grins triumphantly down the aisle towards him; the Abba dance competetion of course; and the final trouncing of the Barbies ("but I'm beautiful!" squeals one).
With her gutsy friend and downtrdden, tragic mother, Muriel has us rooting for her all along so that finally we notice her warmth and lovely eyes and realise that against all odds she really has turned into a swan.

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Rating: - Shouldnt it have been called 'Mariel's Wedding' ?!
This is one of my all time favourite movies : it has the ability to make one realise the power one has to shape ones own future. (And the destructive power of letting others have the deciding factor).

Muriel is fat and ugly. She has no job or real friends. She is classed as a 'useless lump' by her politician father and is unsupported by her mother and siblings.

Life is not much fun for Muriel Hislop in the tiny back water town of Porpoise Spit. The only enjoyment for her is listening to Abba songs and dreaming of getting married. Until, one day, her unhappiness forces her to steal from her parents in order to finance an exotic holiday - where she meets an old rebelious classmate who helps Muriel see she has the ability to be someone other than she is......and to engineer the chance of becoming a perfect bride.

This film has a serious side, but on the whole it is delivered with such humour and panache that you more than just empathise with Muriel - you route for her ! Toni Collete is amazing, playing the frumpy girl who matures into a more elegant woman - this is more than just an 'ugly duckling' story. It has great characters with some funny catchphrases ("Deidre Chambers - what a co-incidence !" & " You're Terrible Muriel!" being my 2 favourites ). The story could play it safe by sticking to comedy, but the fact it takes a chance to delve a little deeper than the usual cliches, wins my admiration completely.

This Australian classic is just wonderful. Touching and funny. I think we can all relate to the story being told here and the performances are top notch.