Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

Directed by P. J. Hogan. Starring Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Bill Hunter, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, Matt Day, Daniel Lapaine, Gennie Nevinson, Daniel Wyllie. [R]

Pudgy and socially-uncouth Muriel (Collette) dreams of getting married just like her obnoxious “friends,” but seeing as how she’s never even been on a real date before, that seems to be a scenario that will always be nothing more than a fantasy. She also has a loutish and belittling father (Hunter), a new best friend (Griffiths) who has become permanently disabled after the surgical removal of a tumor, and suffers from the sudden loss of a family member…but, hey, at least the title promises that her dreams will come true, right? This Aussie seriocomedy unfolds on shaky footing thanks to its sectoral stereotyping and abrasive humor (and a lot of ABBA music), but once Collette and Griffiths’ awkward charms take hold and the mixture of poignancy and fatuity balances out, it emerges a small if uneven success (though its message on self-esteem gets a bit muddled by the end). Set in a backwater town on the Gold Coast called Porpoise Spit (not a typo).

63/100