Comedy : "Muriels wedding"
Muriel's Wedding
| Muriel's Wedding | |
|---|---|
Canadian theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | P. J. Hogan |
| Produced by | Lynda House Jocelyn Moorhouse |
| Written by | P. J. Hogan |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Peter Best |
| Cinematography | Martin McGrath |
| Edited by | Jill Bilcock |
Production
company | |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release date
|
|
Running time
| 101 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million[1] |
| Box office | $57.5 million[2] |
Muriel's Wedding is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P. J. Hogan. The film, which stars actors Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambition is to have a glamorous wedding and improve her personal life by moving from her dead end home town, the fictional Porpoise Spit, to Sydney.
The film received multiple award nominations, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Collette).
Contents
Plot[edit]
Muriel Heslop, a socially awkward young woman, is the target of ridicule by her shallow and egotistical "friends," Tania, Cheryl, Janine, and Nicole. She spends her time listening to ABBA songs and perpetually daydreams of a glamorous wedding to get her out of the dead-end town of Porpoise Spit and away from her domineering father, Bill, a corrupt politician who constantly belittles his wife, Betty, and five children.
Muriel attends the wedding of Tania and Chook, during which she sees Chook and Nicole having sex in a laundry room. Wedding guest Dianne, a department store detective, calls the police on Muriel for stealing the dress she is wearing, and the police publicly escort Muriel out of the reception.
Soon after, Bill's rumored mistress, Deidre Chambers, recruits Muriel into her multi-level marketing business, and Muriel's "friends" officially kick her out of their group after clarifying that she won't be accompanying them on an island holiday. Betty signs a blank check for Muriel to buy products for the cosmetics business, but Muriel instead uses the check to withdraw $12,000 and follow her former friends to the island anyway. There, Muriel runs into Rhonda Epinstalk, an old high school acquaintance, and they quickly strike up a friendship, cemented when Rhonda gleefully tells Tania about Nicole and Chook.
Muriel returns home and is confronted by Betty regarding the stolen money. Muriel immediately runs away to Sydney, sharing a flat with Rhonda and changing her name to Mariel. She gets a job at a video store, where she meets and briefly dates an awkward but kind man, Brice Nobes.
One night, Rhonda suddenly falls down, apparently paralyzed. While at the hospital, Muriel calls home and learns her father is being investigated for taking bribes. Rhonda has a cancerous tumor in her spine and undergoes multiple operations, eventually leaving her permanently unable to walk. Muriel promises Rhonda to look after her and never let her go back to Porpoise Spit. She also uses Rhonda's health crisis as to obtain pampered service at numerous bridal shops, trying on wedding dresses and taking photographs to indulge her wedding dreams. When Rhonda discovers what Muriel has done, Muriel finally confesses to her fixation on a storybook wedding.
Desperate, Muriel enters into a conspiracy to marry South African swimmer David Van Arkle so that he can join Team Australia in the upcoming Olympics; she is paid $10,000 by David's parents for her part in the scheme. At Muriel's elaborate wedding in Sydney, she shows off Tania, Cheryl, and Janine as her bridesmaids; Rhonda, disgusted by Muriel's behavior, refuses to be one. Bill openly treats Deidre as his date, and Betty arrives late to the wedding due to being unable to afford plane tickets; Muriel doesn't notice her at the wedding. Rhonda moves back to her mother's home, unable to live in Sydney without help. After the wedding, David makes his contempt for Muriel clear to her.
In Porpoise Spit, an increasingly distraught Betty accidentally shoplifts a pair of sandals she tries on, and Dianne calls the police. Bill arranges for the charges to disappear. When Betty pleads with Bill that she needs help, he announces his intention to divorce her and marry Deidre. Betty is then found dead by her daughter, Joanie. While Deidre claims that Betty had a heart attack, it is revealed to Muriel by Joanie that she committed suicide.
When Muriel breaks down at her mother's funeral, David comforts her, and they finally consummate their marriage. Her mother's death has forced Muriel to take a hard look at her life, and she asks David for a divorce as neither of them are in love. Bill asks Muriel to help raise her siblings, as Deidre no longer wants to marry him because she does not want to take care of his kids. He has also lost his job on city council. Muriel stands up to him, giving him $5,000 of her wedding money, saying that she will repay the rest of the amount she stole when she gets a job in Sydney. She impresses him with her more assertive personality, demanding that he immediately stop his verbally abusive treatment of her siblings.
Muriel goes to Rhonda's house, where Muriel's former tormentors are condescendingly visiting, and offers to take her back to Sydney. Rhonda accepts and tells off the other girls once again. Muriel and Rhonda head to the airport, happily leaving Porpoise Spit for a more promising future.
Comments
Post a Comment