Muriel's Wedding

Starring: Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, Rachel Griffiths

Year: 1994

I had never seen this movie but every time I googled top one hundred rom-coms, this one always came up. The reviews were "Two Thumbs Up", "Hysterically Funny", "Uproarious!", "Enormously Funny" - so I thought I would give it a go.

Is it just me? Because there is nothing funny about this movie. Or at least I didn't think so. I found it depressing and sad. "Fresh and brimming with wit" it said. Where or when?? Which scenes? I must have gone to the bathroom or poured myself another glass of wine when those scenes took place, because throughout the entire movie, I kept getting sadder and sadder. Or maybe more shocked and disappointed. There were just so many unfortunate things that happened throughout the movie - and not just to Muriel. To her best friend. To her mom. Sad. Sad. Sad.

If you aren't familiar with the movie, it's about a twenty-two year old girl (Toni Collette), living with her family in a small town in Australia, who is constantly being told by her father that she is a lost cause, a disappointment, fat, won't amount to anything, on and on. And it doesn't stop there. There are mean girls too! Hilarious right?? Not in my world! Then one day she and her friend Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) decide to head to the big city (Sydney), where nobody knows them. Where they can make a fresh start and have fun and be who they are meant to be. And they do all that, until Rachel finds out she has cancer. Uproarious right?? Honestly! Eventually Muriel does get engaged - to a professional athlete - and people begin to notice her. But again, not really funny. Sad actually. I couldn't even be happy for her. You have to watch it to understand why. No spoilers here I'm afraid. It was just not at all what I expected.

But having said all that, I did watch it to the end. And it wasn't exactly two hours of my life I will never get back. I did like the ending. Thank goodness for that! It wasn't an "enormously funny" ending. But it was a happy ending. Would I watch it again? Probably not any time soon. But I may give it another chance - and see if I can actually find the funny bits that all of the critics found.

If you are an ABBA fan, you will love the soundtrack. If you don't, well, heads-up! Muriel is an ABBA fan! A big, HUGE, ABBA fan! Just saying. 😉

Favourite Lines:

*I'm a bride. I'm supposed to be euphoric!

*Wait! Let her finish her orgasm.

*My life's as good as an ABBA song. It's as good as Dancing Queen.

From one movie "buff" to another....get that popcorn popped, the lights dimmed and the movie rolling.