Muriel's Wedding
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''Muriel's Wedding'' is a 1994
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film written and directed by P.J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Bill Hunter and Rachel Griffiths, 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 hometown, the fictional Porpoise Spit, to
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. The film premiered at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was released in Australia on 29 September 1994. It received positive reviews and earned multiple award nominations, including a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Collette).


Plot

Socially awkward young Muriel Heslop is the target of ridicule by her shallow and snobbish friends, Tania, Cheryl, Janine and Nicole. A devoted
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
fan, she often daydreams of a glamorous wedding to get her away from the dead-end beach town of Porpoise Spit and her domineering father Bill, a corrupt politician who constantly belittles his entire family. Muriel attends the wedding of Tania and Chook, during which she sees him and Nicole secretly having sex. Wedding guest Dianne, a department store detective, calls the police on Muriel for stealing the dress she is wearing, and they publicly escort Muriel out of the reception. Soon afterwards, Bill's rumoured mistress, Deidre Chambers, recruits Muriel into her multi-level marketing business, and Muriel's "friends" throw her out of their group after declaring she is not invited to their upcoming island holiday. Muriel's mother, Betty, signs a blank cheque for Muriel to buy products for the cosmetics business, but she instead uses it to withdraw $12,000 and follow her former friends to the island. 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's affair. Returning home, Muriel is confronted by Betty regarding the stolen money. She impulsively flees to Sydney, sharing a flat with Rhonda, taking a job at a video shop and changing her name to Mariel. One night, Rhonda suddenly falls down, unable to feel her legs. While at the hospital, Muriel calls home and learns her father is being investigated for taking bribes. Rhonda has a cancerous
tumour A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue (biology), tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tiss ...
in her spine and undergoes multiple operations, eventually leaving her paraplegic. Muriel promises Rhonda to look after her and never let her return 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 obsession. When Rhonda confronts Muriel, she finally confesses to her fixation on a dream wedding, and their friendship becomes strained. Desperate, Muriel agrees to a
sham marriage A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship. This is usually for the purpose of gaining an advantage from the marriage. Definitions of sham marriage vary b ...
to South African swimmer David Van Arkle so he can join the Australian team in the upcoming Olympics; she is paid $10,000 by David's parents for her help. At Muriel's elaborate wedding in Sydney, Tania, Cheryl and Janine are her bridesmaids; an embittered Rhonda refuses to be one. Bill openly treats Deidre as his date, and Betty arrives late to the wedding as she is unable to afford a plane ticket; Muriel does not notice her at the wedding. Rhonda moves back to her mother's home in Porpoise Spit, unable to live in Sydney without help. After the wedding, David makes his lack of interest in Muriel clear to her. In Porpoise Spit, an increasingly distraught Betty unwittingly shoplifts a pair of sandals she tries on, and Dianne calls the police. Bill arranges to have the charges dropped, but when Betty pleads with Bill for help, he announces his intention to divorce her and marry Deidre. Betty is later found dead by her daughter Joanie. It is announced that Betty had a heart attack, but Joanie informs Muriel that it was suicide. At her mother's funeral, David comforts Muriel, and they finally consummate their marriage. Determined to stop lying, she tells him she can no longer remain married to him as neither of them are in love, and they part amicably. Bill asks Muriel to help raise her siblings, as Deidre is less likely to marry him with the children in tow, and he has also lost his job on city council. Muriel stands up to him, giving him $5,000 of her wedding money and telling him she will repay the rest of the stolen amount when she gets a job in Sydney. She also demands that her father stop verbally abusing her siblings. Muriel goes to Rhonda's house, where Muriel's former tormentors are visiting, and offers to take her back to Sydney. Rhonda accepts and lambasts the other women, much to their shock and anger. The best friends head to the airport, happily leaving Porpoise Spit behind.


Cast


Production

The film used Tweed Heads as the locale for Porpoise Spit, although the scene of Muriel and Rhonda leaving Porpoise Spit was filmed in its adjoining "Twin Town", Coolangatta. Other filming locations included Moreton Island, Darlinghurst, the Gold Coast, Elanora, Tugun,
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
,
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
,
Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...
and Sydney. For the role of Muriel, Toni Collette gained in seven weeks. The film was inspired by P. J. Hogan's family.


Release

''Muriel's Wedding'' premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in May 1994. The film screened at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival in September. It was released theatrically in Australia on 29 September 1994 by Roadshow Film Distributors, a month after another Australian film, '' The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert''. In France, it was released as simply ''Muriel'' on 26 October 1994. The film was also shown at the Welsh International Film Festival in
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
in November 1994, five months before its general UK release.


Critical reception

''Muriel's Wedding'' received positive reviews from critics. On the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Heartfelt and quirky, though at times broad, ''Muriel's Wedding'' mixes awkward comedy, oddball Australian characters, and a nostalgia-heavy soundtrack."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' stated the film "is merciless in its portrait of provincial society, and yet has a huge affection for its misfit survivors...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." Peter Stack of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' wrote, "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." Peter Travers of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' 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 humour turn edgy, Collette's performance gains in force, and ''Muriel's Wedding'' becomes a date you want to keep."


Box office

''Muriel's Wedding'' grossed AU$2.2 million in its opening week in Australia (September 1994) from 72 screens, at that time the third biggest opening for an Australian film behind two films starring Paul Hogan (no relation to the director of ''Muriel's Wedding'')'' Crocodile Dundee II'' (1988) and '' Lightning Jack'' (1994). It went on to gross AU$15.8 million (equivalent to AU$34.7 million in 2023) at the box office in Australia. It earned
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
245,000 on 14 screens in its opening weekend in the US (March 1995) and eventually grossed US$15.1 million in the United States and Canada.


Accolades


Soundtrack

The music of
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
forms the backbone of the film's soundtrack. Songwriters
Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...
and
Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...
allowed their use in the film and permitted " Dancing Queen" to be adapted as an orchestral piece. Additional ABBA songs included are " Waterloo" and " I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do". ABBA only gave permission for their music to be included in the film two weeks before shooting commenced; the filmmakers were considering changing Muriel's favourite band to the Village People. Also included in the soundtrack are " Sugar Baby Love" by the Rubettes, " The Tide Is High" by Blondie, " I Go to Rio" by Peter Allen, and " Happy Together" by the Turtles.


Stage adaptation

In September 2016, it was announced that
Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...
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. The musical ran at the Roslyn Packer Theatre from 6 November 2017 through 27 January 2018.


See also

* Cinema of Australia * Sydney in film * ''
Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...
''


References


External links

* * *
''Muriel's Wedding''
at Oz Movies *
''Muriel's Wedding''
at Screen Australia
''Muriel's Wedding''
at the
National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

UrbanCinefile.com article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muriel's Wedding 1994 films 1994 comedy-drama films 1994 directorial debut films 1994 independent films 1990s Australian films 1990s buddy comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s female buddy films 1990s French films Australian buddy comedy films Australian comedy-drama films Australian independent films Ciby 2000 films English-language buddy comedy-drama films English-language French films English-language independent films Films about adultery Films about dysfunctional families Films about weddings Films directed by P. J. Hogan Films scored by Peter Best (composer) Films set in New South Wales Films set in Sydney Films shot in Queensland Films shot in Sydney Films shot on the Gold Coast, Queensland French buddy comedy-drama films French female buddy films French independent films Miramax films Roadshow Entertainment films