Worst - Movie - Ever!!
Added 11/30/2009
If it wasn't for a bet that I had going with a friend, I never would have spent the $3.50 to buy this movie. It was simply awful! I understand the story line and that it's meant to be a comedy, but please don't show this to young girls as they may get the wrong idea. I think giving it an "R" rating will help ensure that young, impressionable girls WON'T see this movie. The only two funny scenes in the entire movie are when Muriel and Rhonda are on vacation and singing Waterloo in a talent show, and when Muriel is walking down the isle to get married, and the song "I Do" is playing as her wedding march. Seemed fitting.
Recap: Don't waste your money.
As for the bet - Which movie better represent Abba music. Mama Mia wins by a landslide!
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Not my thing, but I still enjoyed it.
Added 11/3/2009
I bought this for my wife and watched it with her. I expected to hate it, but didnt. It's actually pretty well done and has some really funny scenes. You could do a lot worse for a so-called "chick flick".
'Nuff said.
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A charming oddball
Added 8/18/2009
The Bottom Line:
One of those films that you I'm tempted to recommend simply because you probably won't see anything else like it, Muriel's Wedding thankfully features such an interesting take on women and marriage and such a nuanced and well-developed lead character that I can recommend it easily on its own merits; if you crave something different, watch Muriel desperately seek her wedding.
3/4
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Before There was "Mamma Mia!"....
Added 7/12/2009
There was "Muriel's Wedding." This is one of my all time favorites. As a child of immigrants from Australia I find a special connection to the Motherland both in the film and in the music of ABBA (I know, they're Swedish, but it was what my older brother's listened to when I was growing up.). The story is hilariously funny and just a delicious foretaste of what Toni Collete will go on to do in her career. It's a fun movie, perfect to enjoy for a girls' night.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Another Aussie Gem from the 90s!
Added 6/12/2009
We love this movie. It was made at the same time and Bill Hunter had to shuttle between locations to play the opressive father here and the transformed outbacker in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, another Aussie gem from the 90s. Surprising plot, unconventional in a lot of ways. Whether you love Australia as we do or just love good, well-acted, well-scripted indie cinema, you should love this.
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The Outback Will Never Be the Same
Added 10/8/2009
On September 19, 2009, in London I saw the new wildly popular cult musical "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" which is based on the Australia movie of the same name. The musical was extremely well-done, well-staged; innovative, all-in-all a hoot. The bus taking up most of the stage could be turned around to show interior and exterior shots. The principals did their own singing, and as far as I could discern, unlike the movie, there was no Abba. The fast-paced show delighted audience members, many of whom seem to have seen it before.
In this film two drag queens and a transsexual (Terence Stamp, born in 1939) travel in a rickety, quirky bus from Sydney to Alice Springs to perform in a casino night club where one of the performer's ex-wife works. The photography of the Australian outback, the rock formations, the skies, the landscape is overwhelming and stunningly beautiful, almost worth the admission price.
In the movie (1994) some of the staging of the musical numbers did not even pretend to be realistic. That bus couldn't possibly hold all of the costumes and props. The instantaneous changing of costumes in the Alice Springs number is mind-boggling. Some of the movie scenes are surreal and eerily transcendent. The two diva opera numbers atop the bus are beautifully done, but not in the least realistic.
When the three divas are performing, they never get more than a lukewarm reception from their audiences except for the aborigine group they meet. In their long odyssey they have two homophobic encounters with the cowboy-types of the Outback.
Terence Stamp's performance is spot-on, and he deserves high praise for his acting. The movie has brief flash-backs to the characters' pasts that really aren't necessary.
The movie has a strong plot, good by-play among the various characters (Bernadette and Felicia are constantly spatting), and a sense of purpose that becomes apparent after a viewing. The London West End musical version cleaves very closely to the movie's plot, but seems more light-hearted. The movie is well worth seeing. It's a trip in every sense of the word.
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Australlan comedy
Added 9/14/2009
A delightfully bawdy comedy, but so Australian. They love shows with cross dressers. It must go back to Elizabethan times, when males played all the roles.
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memorable, bold and even wonderfully decadent
Added 8/11/2009
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is both shocking and extremely entertaining; it grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the very final moment of the picture! The acting is extremely convincing; I really like that. The musical score is excellent, too.
When the action starts, we meet three people who perform a cabaret act in outrageous extremes of drag; they are "Tick" or Anthony who also goes by Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), Adam or Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp), a man who had surgery to become a woman. Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette get dressed up in their costumes (most of which are not terribly pretty although the film did win an Oscar for Best Costume Design) and lip-synch their way through musical numbers to an enthusiastic crowd in a bar in Sydney, Australia. However, life takes its twists and turns and for their own individual, personal reasons Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette decide to take a road trip to perform in Alice Springs, way out in the middle of Australia. It isn't long after that Felicia gets an old, run down bus for them to use as transportation.
Along the way the trio has quite a few experiences although not all of them are bad. They are greeted warmly by a group of Aboriginals who even join them dancing and playing music into the night; and Mitzi, Bernadette and Felicia have a lot of fun teasing each other while they're riding on the bus through the outback. On the other hand, they enter a town in which there is a great deal of prejudice; after a night of harsh words, verbal threats and a drinking contest between Bernadette and a local lady named Shirley (June Marie Bennett), the three of them awake to find some mighty nasty graffiti written on the side of their bus. They wisely decide to promptly head out of town and they continue on their way to the hotel in the outback where they have their upcoming gig--and all is well until their bus breaks down. After a day or two of being stranded in the outback desert, they finally meet Bob (Bill Hunter), a thoroughly good sport who lives in the outback with his mail-order bride Cynthia (Julia Cortez).
Bob fixes the bus and they go on their way with more adventure; and Adam/Felicia re-paints the bus lavender to erase the graffiti. As they get closer to their destination, however, one of them drops a huge bombshell on the others. I also got the feeling that Bob and Bernadette might be starting to be more than just friends.
Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here--which one of them reveals something major than the others didn't know before? It's his real reason for taking the gig in the outback. What about Bob, Cynthia and Bernadette--how will all that play out? Sorry, no spoilers here--watch and find out!
If you get the "extra frills" edition of this movie, tune into the excellent audio commentary. There is behind the scenes footage; interviews with cast and crew and more!
If you want an excellent movie and you're not averse to this subject matter, this will provide you with excellent entertainment and you should add this to your DVD collection. I also recommend this film for members of the GLBT communities.
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