Muriel's Wedding

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.

Muriel's Wedding
Canadian theatrical release poster
Directed byP. J. Hogan
Produced byLynda House
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Written byP. J. Hogan
Starring
Music byPeter Best
CinematographyMartin McGrath
Edited byJill Bilcock
Production
company
CiBy 2000
Film Victoria
House & Moorhouse Films
Distributed byMiramax Films
Release date
  • 29 September 1994 (1994-09-29) (Australia)
  • 10 March 1995 (1995-03-10) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million[1]
Box office$57.5 million[2]

The film received multiple award nominations, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Collette).

Plot

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 multilevel 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 cheque for Muriel to buy products for the cosmetics business, but Muriel instead uses the cheque to withdraw $12,000 and follow her former friends to the island anyway. There, Muriel runs into Rhonda Epinstall, 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 and 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 tumour 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 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, and they have an angry fight.

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.

Cast

Production

The film used Tweed Heads as the locale for Porpoise Spit,[3] although the scene of Muriel and Rhonda leaving Porpoise Spit was filmed in Coolangatta.[4] Other filming locations included Moreton Island, Darlinghurst, the Gold Coast, Elanora,[5] Parramatta, Kensington, Surfers Paradise and Sydney.

For the role of Muriel, Toni Collette gained 18 kg (40 lb) in seven weeks.[6]

Release

Critical reception

Muriel's Wedding received positive reviews from critics and has a "Certified Fresh" score of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The critical consensus states, "Heartfelt and quirky, though at times broad, Muriel's Wedding mixes awkward comedy, oddball Australian characters, and a nostalgia-heavy soundtrack."[7] The film also has a score of 63 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 critics indicating 'Generally favorable reviews'[8]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "is merciless in its portrait of provincial society, and yet has a huge affection for its misfit survivors... [it] has a lot of big and little laughs in it, but also a melancholy undercurrent, which reveals itself toward the end of the film in a series of surprises and unexpected developments... The film's good heart keeps it from ever making fun of Muriel, although there are moments that must have been tempting."[9]

Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "With such recent hits as Strictly Ballroom and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Australia seems to be cornering the market for odd but delightful comedies laced with substance and romance. The latest, Muriel's Wedding, is another bright, occasionally brilliant, example... The movie is much meatier than its larky comic sheen leads you to think at first... There's poignant drama in this brash, sometimes overstated film, and Muriel's transformation is truly touching."[10]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it "exuberantly funny... a crowd pleaser that spices a tired formula with genuine feeling... In the final scenes, when Hogan dares to let his humor turn edgy, Collette's performance gains in force, and Muriel's Wedding becomes a date you want to keep."[11]

Box office

Muriel's Wedding grossed $15,765,571 at the box office in Australia—approximately $27 million in 2019 dollars, adjusted for inflation.[12][13]

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 1994 and opened in Australia the following month. It earned US$244,969 on 14 screens in its opening weekend in the US and eventually grossed US$15,119,639 in the United States.[14]

Accolades
Award Category Subject Result
AACTA Awards (1994 AFI Awards) Best Film Lynda House and Jocelyn Moorhouse Won
Best Direction P. J. Hogan Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Actress Toni Collette Won
Best Supporting Actor Bill Hunter Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Jeanie Drynan Nominated
Rachel Griffiths Won
Best Editing Jill Bilcock Nominated
Best Sound David Lee, Glenn Newnham, Livia Ruzic and Roger Savage Won
Best Production Design Paddy Reardon Nominated
Best Costume Design Terry Ryan Nominated
APRA Award Best Film Score Peter Best Won
BAFTA Award Best Original Screenplay P. J. Hogan Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Toni Collette Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award Most Promising Actress Nominated
Chicago International Film Festival Mercedes-Benz Audience Award P. J. Hogan Won
FCCA Awards Best Actor – Female Toni Collette Won
Best Supporting Actor – Female Rachel Griffiths Won
Writers Guild of America Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen P. J. Hogan Nominated

Soundtrack

The music of ABBA forms the backbone of the film's soundtrack. Songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson allowed their use in the film and permitted one of their hits, "Dancing Queen", to be adapted as an orchestral piece.

Additional ABBA songs included are "Mamma Mia", "Waterloo", "Fernando", and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". Also included are "Sugar Baby Love" by The Rubettes, "The Tide Is High" by Blondie, "I Go to Rio" by Peter Allen, "Happy Together" by The Turtles, and Schubert's "Ave Maria".

ABBA only gave permission for their music to be included in the film two weeks before shooting commenced: the filmmakers were considering going ahead and changing Muriel's favourite band to The Village People.[15]

Stage adaptation
Main article: Muriel's Wedding (musical)

In September 2016, it was announced that Sydney Theatre Company would produce a musical adaptation of Muriel's Wedding. Muriel's Wedding The Musical incorporates songs by ABBA as well as original music by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall. P. J. Hogan wrote the musical's book, Simon Phillips directed, and Gabriela Tylesova designed the set and costumes.[16] The musical ran at the Roslyn Packer Theatre from 6 November 2017 through 27 January 2018.[17]

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See also

References
  1. "Muriel's Wedding (1995)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  2. "Muriel's Wedding (1994) – Box office / business". IMDb. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  3. "The wedding belle" by Stephen Lowenstein, The Guardian, 22 October 2000
  4. "Where you can recreate your favourite movie scenes in Queensland" by Sarah Motherwell, The Courier-Mail, 12 November 2015
  5. "(facebook publication)". Gecko Environment Council. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. Thise, Mark (2008). Hollywood Winners & Losers A to Z. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 35.
  7. "Muriel's Wedding".
  8. "Muriel's Wedding".
  9. Ebert, Roger (17 March 1995). "Muriel's Wedding Movie Review (1995)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  10. Stack, Peter (17 March 1995). "Seeking Bliss, Muriel Finds Herself Instead / Sweet 'Wedding' comedy has substance". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  11. Travers, Peter (10 March 1995). "Muriel's Wedding (review)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  12. "Film Victoria // supporting Victoria's film television and games industry – Film Victoria" (PDF). film.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  13. "Inflation Calculator". Reserve Bank of Australia. 5 February 2019.
  14. "Muriel's Wedding (1995) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. 1995. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  15. "Can you imagine Muriel's Wedding without ABBA? #TheWeeklypic.twitter.com/Bc0CjXMT5l". @theweeklytv. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  16. Hetrick, Adam (8 September 2016). "Muriel's Wedding Stage Musical Will Feature ABBA Songs". Playbill. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  17. Gerard, Jeremy (8 September 2016). "Musical Muriel's Wedding Set To Become Global Creatures' Latest Stage Venture". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
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