Muriel’s Wedding on 35mm
Director: P.J. Hogan Run Time: 106 min. Format: 35mm Film Release Year: 1994
Starring: Bill Hunter, Jeanie Drynan, Rachel Griffiths, Sophie Lee, Toni Collette
Screenwriter: P.J. Hogan
Producers: Lynda House, Jocelyn Moorhouse
Now my life is as good as an ABBA song, it’s as good as “Dancing Queen.” Hilarious, touching, offbeat, and endlessly quotable – this rapturous comedy from Australia is for anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast. Muriel (Toni Collette in her star-making role) is a loser — unemployed and trapped in a family of misfits with a long-suffering mother and a crooked politician of a father, she seeks refuge in her boombox and an endless loop of ABBA songs. Breaking free from the small town of Porpoise Spit (with the help of some stolen cash) she moves in with the wild party girl Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) in the big city and gets a job at a video store, slowly becoming a strong independent woman who chooses her true self over her fantasy version. Truly one of the best stories of female friendship and self-worth, Muriel’s Wedding is a present of a film for the former loser in all of us.
Print on loan from the Library of Congress