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Muriel's Wedding
Average Customer Review : 4.5/5 based on 155 reviews
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List Price : $9.99
Price : $9.49
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Editorial Reviews
Ever since the late '70s when the Australian New Wave was in full surge, Down Under directors have delivered movies that often hit you like news from another planet. Offbeat characters, weird narrative twists, and a tart mixture of laughs and catastrophe--this is the juice that fuels such flicks as Proof, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom, Heavenly Creatures, and most certainly Muriel's Wedding. Directed by P.J. Hogan (who would go on to helm the Hollywood hit My Best Friend's Wedding), this little gem follows tradition by featuring an authentic misfit: Muriel (Toni Collette), a great overweight horse of a girl obsessed with getting married and the music of ABBA. Appropriately, we first meet Muriel at a wedding, all trussed up in a leopardskin number she's boosted for the occasion. When her snotty peers insist that she give up the bridal bouquet to someone who might actually get hitched, when one of the guests turns out to be a clerk in the very store where Muriel ripped off her outfit--you gotta laugh, she's such an unmitigated mess. A loser, her philandering politician father (Bill Hunter) calls her--along with his doormat wife and his other couch-potato offspring. But this movie's no exercise in geek-bashing. As Muriel takes up with feisty Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) and moves from Porpoise Spit to the big city, her good-hearted grin and zest for life draw us in despite hilarious gaffes and mishaps. (Making out with a boy for the first time, Muriel suddenly finds herself awash in styrofoam: the oaf has unzipped the beanbag chair instead of her skin-tight leather pants.) Muriel's Wedding covers territory Hollywood would banish from a comedy--Rhonda's cancer, the suicide of Muriel's mother, a marriage of convenience to an arrogant athlete--yet, like its heroine, it never loses its sense of humor, its will to move on to whatever good thing might happen next. Everyone in the idiosyncratic cast is terrific, but it's Toni Collette's Dancing Queen who makes Muriel's Wedding a cinematic celebration you won't forget. --Kathleen Murphy
Spotlight Reviews
Friends in sickness and in health (2008-10-27)
Customer Review : 5
I've already lost count of the times I have seen this movie. And every time I laugh and cry, sing and dream. "ABBA" is here to stay and the film plays tribute to this great band. Muriel wants a married life and is ready to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true. She settles in Sydney and starts a journey that will change her life forever. It's beautiful to see how situations change a person's perspective of life and the pain and sorrow of past mistakes can make wonders. True friendship is always present and a different kind of love comes her way: the love of support and understanding. Toni Collette is just fabulous and I would recognize Rachel Griffiths later in "Six Feet Under". They are great actresses who bring life into a character. And that is always a pleasure to see. "Muriel's Wedding" is just like "ABBA": a strong injection of good mood.
Muriel's Wedding (2008-10-21)
Customer Review : 5
A dysfunctional family, Muriel who lives in a fantasy world and a cast of unforgettable characters. This classic Australian film has it all; comedy,bitter-sweet moments and gut-wrenching poignancy.
I have taught this film for film studies and it has been acclaimed by audiences of all ages. It rates as one of my top ten films. Watch it. You will not be disappointed.
Simply, Superb ! (2008-09-13)
Customer Review : 5
I'm so glad for having this Australian film on DVD because my first product was the VHS version and I enjoy it so much. The main message of the story is "the friendship". The performance of all the actors, the music, the story and the locations are superb !!! No more words for this masterpiece as a romantic comedy by Toni Collect and don't miss it.
This movie is better than an ABBA song... (2008-08-28)
Customer Review : 4
Toni Collette is utterly adorable (in that funny looking girl touches heart kind of way) in the surprise stunner `Muriel's Wedding'; a film about a young girls dream of getting married. The film is the perfect vehicle for Collette to dominate with a wonderfully complete character that is easy to love, easy to understand and fully deserving of our adoration.
The film revolves around Muriel Heslop, a somewhat unattractive young woman who dreams of one day saying her vows across from her Prince Charming, but her dreams are often crushed down by her snotty friends and unsupportive father. Constantly thought of as a worthless slacker, Muriel strives above all else to prove she is worth something, and she believes that she can accomplish this only by getting married, showing everything that thought she was worthy that she is indeed desirable. She leaves home (the small town of Porpoise Spit) for Sydney where she finds herself a job and a roommate and a whole new life. The film brings us through her journey, through the ups and downs, the boyfriend and the best friend and the eventual wedding, but what is more profound is the emotional journey that Muriel undergoes that uproots everything she thought she knew about life and where she was headed.
The film is carried along effortlessly by a brilliant script that mixes well the comedic as well as the tragic sides of life; allowing us to laugh and cry with Muriel. The script is further embellished by Collette's fantastic, Oscar worthy performance (in such a weak year I often wonder how the true gem performances were passed over by Oscar). As Muriel she invites the audience to feel her every emotion and she embodies a complete woman so effortlessly. Sure, some of the gags poke fun at her outward appearance, but what is so beautiful about `Muriel's Wedding' is that in the end it is her inward appearance that wins our hearts.
Collette and company (including splendid performances by Rachel Griffiths and Bill Hunter) deliver a film that is rich in emotional depth and pure likeability. I approaches the subjects of loyalty, friendship, love and trust with the right amount of humor to offset the seriousness but never so much that it makes light of the situation.
It's funny; it's sweet; it's genuine and it's sincere. Overall `Muriel's Wedding' is a real delight.
If you like Mamma Mia! it's time to rediscover Muriel (2008-07-19)
Customer Review : 4
I saw the new Mamma Mia! movie last night and it was fun, but it could not hold a candle to Muriel's Wedding, which is my favorite ABBA-themed movie (wedding-themed and ABBA-themed, quite a specialized genre!).
Muriel's Wedding is not a full-on musical, but features ABBA music throughout (including Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Fernando) as sad-sack Muriel dreams of leaving her dead-end existence in Porpoise Spit behind for life in the big city and hopefully, a fantasy wedding. The lack of a groom is the least of Muriel's obstacles.
The Australian comedy stars a young Toni Collette (known now for playing mother roles in The Sixth Sense, About a Boy, and Little Miss Sunshine) and Rachel Griffiths, who went on to co-star in Six Feet Under and Brothers and Sisters on US television.
Muriel's Wedding is funny, satirical, campy, and ultimately celebrates true friendship triumphing over the illusion of romance taking us away from it all.
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