Cast: Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Bill Hunter,
Sophie Lee, Rosalind Hammond
Directed by P.J. Hogan
Muriel's life
in a small Australian town is dull and full of feelings of
inadequacy, with nothing for her to do but listen to ABBA and hope
one day she gets married to somebody...anybody! After stealing money
from her parents, she takes a vacation and starts off changing her
life around and doing what she's always wanted to do, including
getting married. But she soon realizes that doing all the things she
wants to do doesn't necessarily lead her on the road to
happiness.
A pleasant
film, with lots of original twists on the "ugly duckling" story, (and
like most of those the duckling isn't really ugly, but oh well.) It's
funny, sad, and endearingly acted by Collette as Muriel. P.J. Hogan
continued this winning formula for MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING a few
years later. The only downside is having to hear ABBA sing "Dancing
Queen" several times during the duration of the film. Terrific light
entertainment that makes you wish it didn't have to end.
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