Rating: 
Summary: for the Muriel in all of us
Review: Muriel's Wedding is a smash starring Toni Collette, who gained lots of weight for her first starring role. In the little Australian town of Porpoise Spit, Muriel is the overweight downtrodden hanger-on of a group of selfish girls from high school who don't really like her and ridicule her at every turn. Muriel herself has not held a job in 2 years and is constantly reminded of how useless she is by her father, who once lost a local political race.Muriel secretly follows her 'friends' on vacation, after they have quite rudely told her that she brings down the group and is bad for their image. There, she reconnects with Rhonda, an old friend from Porpoise Spit High, who helps Muriel stand up to the group of horrors. Muriel is inspired to reinvent herself as "Mariel" and start living her dream of catching a husband, so she can be loved and beautiful, as she is sure all brides surely must be. While categozied as a comedy, Muriel's Wedding is often poignant as it follows a young girl in figuring out what it is she wants and with whom she wants to share her life. There is a good subplot of Muriel's upbringing, giving the viewer insight into why she chooses the friendships and boyfriends that she does.
Rating:
Summary: Muriel: A Woman After My Own Heart
Review: Although I don't have a penchant for shoplifting, pathological lying or frankly caring what the OTHER girls think, I was hooked on Muriel Heslop, hook, line and sinker. She epitomizes so many of the issues that young girls who are growing up while also painfully growing OUT deal with, and yet, as other reviewers have commented, she puts the pretty, slim girls to total shame. They seem to have everything she wants: a trim figure, a handsome (but usually cheating) boyfriend or husband, an upper middle class living, etc., but they don't have the heart of our Muriel. You will both laugh and wince when she is trying on bridal gowns with absolutely no fiance in the wings, calmly and convincingly telling the sales clerks of her wonderful, upcoming wedding, so full of sweet lies and whimsy that you have to feel for her. Not only does Muriel constantly step on her own feet, she has many mean spirited family members and so-called "chums" to remind her just how pitiful she is, something that especially hits home to this writer. There always seems to be plenty of people who want to call attention to your faults (especially if you happen to also be overweight and a "geek"), but Muriel has her come-uppance, even if it happens to be via an arranged wedding to a self absorbed athlete who wants nothing but a token. Only Muriel would pick an ABBA tune for her processional (the feel good "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", one of my favorites) but this may be the only wedding she's going to have so let the girl have her fun. This movie is considered a sleeper which is a shame. It should be viewed by all girls who ever were or are overweight and feel that true love only comes to the thin. Sometimes self love is sacrificed in the name of "give-me-somebody/anybody-to-marry" but, at least in Muriel's case, she realizes this in the nick of time. Give it a look and be ready to laugh as well as ponder.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny film with a heart
Review: When we were kids, we all fantasized about the life we would have when we grew up. Muriel did the same, but she never outgrew her fantasies or thought them through. Muriel desperately wants to get married. She's collected photos of brides, and books with marital information, but she hasn't collected the one thing she needs to finalize the deal: a fiance. This is no surprise as Muriel is an unmitagated mess. She's overweight and awkward. She has no social grace and she comes from a family that looks like it might have stepped out of the film Deliverance. These are truly unattractive people on all levels. Muriel is a shoplifter, a forger, and a thief. Her brothers and sisters are all worthless, shiftless oafs who couldn't function in the world beyond their parents. And the parents: Mom is a dreamer, unhappy for years. Dad is a cheating, lying, crooked politician wanna-be. Muriel didn't have a chance. The story follows Muriel from ugly duckling to social climbing, desperate femme fatale, to glamorous star, to a semi well adjusted young woman. The laughs are painful, but plentiful. The story is also painful. This is not a story that America could tell, because the audiences here typically don't know what to do with such a film. There's no simple story. It's complex and the characters don't wear black or white hats. These are real people with complex personalities and characters. Set to a soundtrack made up almost solely of ABBA, Muriel's Wedding is a definite keeper!
Rating:
Summary: Hell bent for some self-esteem!
Review: Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths and Jeanie Drynen are perfect. This may be seen as some to be a "chick-flick" but it's a ball-buster! This chick (Muriel/Mariel) has something to say and something to learn. Abba aside, this picture has some great social commentary about the perils of living in a paternalistic society where the "broads better be thin" because no self-respecting male pituitary case would ever be caught dead wanting to "go" with a fat chick. The looker chicks in this one are the pathetic ones and well they should be. It's a laugh riot. Toni Collette is a great character actress and "sews" up Muriel into an irresistable package. See her performance in Velvet Goldmine for a great comparison. When it comes to dissecting western society at it's most viseral, few do it better than the Australians. If you're looking for Western Culture at it's paternalistic worst and feminist best trumpeted by the grating but hypnotic pop band Abba, look no further. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will become a part of you.
Rating:
Summary: a superb australlian comedy drama
Review: This is superb characters storyline settings are all brilliant a must have.With the added excellence of Abba to the film and the soundtrack it adds to the magic and the bittersweet tale of Muriel.A must have!
Rating:
Summary: Warning! Must possess intellect to "get" this film!
Review: First of all -- NEVER take the word of an anonymous reviewer spewing ridiculous venom! More importantly, I must confess, "Muriel's Wedding" is my favorite movie of all time! It was recommended to me by a friend of mine -- a MALE friend of mine. (Who's straight, by the way.) I first watched the VHS tape of this movie several years ago, and fell in love with it. I watched it over and over and over again, often rewinding to my favorite scenes so many times I can recite them by heart! I've worn out two VHS tapes of this movie, own two more, and am now buying the DVD! Toni Collette is priceless in her portrayal of "Muriel." Muriel is a highly intelligent young woman with feelings that run very deep. Her inner beauty is apparent to anyone with a soul right from the very beginning. When Muriel hooks up with "Rhonda" (Rachel Griffiths) on vacation, the real fun begins! Collette and Griffiths have a working chemistry that explodes on the screen and sweeps the audience into the story. Muriel begins to learn to be true to herself with Rhonda's help, but is still driven to "show everybody" in her hometown that she's a "winner." Her will to succeed almost destroys her friendship with Rhonda, but after a series of twists and turns, Muriel sees the light and truly does become the winner that we know she's been all along. Chick flick? Perhaps. But intelligence, perception, and depth are required of anyone (be they "chick" or "dude") in order to appreciate the characters and all the nuances in this movie. If you're not a deep thinker, you're likely to scribble a "pseudo-review" such as the one written by the anonymous unfeeling guy who obviously had no clue as to what he was watching. Surface thinkers like that should stick with "Beavis and Butthead," and should not write reviews of art they can't possibly begin to comprehend. If you have brains in your head, feelings in your heart, and empathy in your soul, then this movie is just what you've been searching for!
Rating: 
Summary: One star is not low enough
Review: In a long history of tortuous "chick-flicks" this one has got to be the most unbearable by far. There is not one single redeeming morsel to hang onto from this waste of time. Fat, ugly, loser from a loser family in a loser town hopes to get the guy? Please! I wouldn't even hook up with this girl if she was the last female standing at a frat party. This is the movie to show Osama Bin Laden's henchmen to make them choke up his whereabouts. I would hand over my own mother to keep from having to watch even one more second of this chick-flick black hole. Please stop watching this movie so they will stop printing it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the finest movies I've ever seen
Review: Muriel Heslop is a young woman who dreams of getting married and moving far away from her boring life in Porpoise Spit, Australia. Unfortunately, even after her dreams do come true (and changes her name to Mariel), she discovers that while she has gained everything she has desired, she has also alienated herself from her family and her best friend Rhonda, and by the end of the film goes back to being good-ol' Muriel Heslop. The performances in this film were excellent, especially Toni Collette in the lead (who gained a few pounds for her role), and future Oscar nominee Rachel Griffiths as Rhonda, a woman suddenly sticken with a potentially fatal illness. Despite it's seemingly simple plot, it's a suprisingly rich and complex story. It's about a family on the verge of insanity, the value of friendship, and is a fable with a positive message: Be yourself, and you will like yourself for it. Whether you like comedy or drama, you'll absolutely fall in love with this movie.
Rating:
Summary: An idiosyncratic gem.
Review: This is a great movie, though it's hard to classify. It's funny - sometimes hilarious - but it's not really a comedy. It's something of a romance, but with a seriously edgy dark side to it. Basically, it's a story about a dysfunctional family and what it does to the people in it. It so thoroughly portrays the different roles of the dysfunctional family (and the ways in which personalities are warped by them) that I suspect the storywriter has some real experience with it. It seems like more than just story-telling. The film loses a star because of 1) some characterizations that are a little too "out there", and 2) a lack of message (the "better" life that the movie portrays as freedom for Muriel is just as shallow as the one she's trapped in). These things aside, though, it's an engrossing story that is told uncannily well.
Rating:
Summary: CHARACTERS
Review: I thought this was a very strange film the first time I saw it. I was not even sure I understood the brand of humour being employed. Australian film, Australian humour maybe. Subsequent viewings made me appreciate the film much more. Much of what happened just was not funny and was not meant to be. The story is about Muriel (played by Toni Collette, a virtual unknown in America until her turn as Haley Joel Osment's mother in The Sixth Sense), a misfit, who has few friends, a weird personality, an obsession with Abba, and she only dreams of falling in love... or maybe not even love but of marriage. She has problems in her dysfunctional family. She wants to find a way out. Muriel meets a friend (played by an always excellent Rachel Griffiths). The two of them always have fun together, always partying and getting into all kinds of trouble. At some point, though, Griffiths's character becomes ill, and this changes the dynamic of their friendship. Muriel is still very much on the prowl for love, and she answers a personal ad. A South African national needs to marry an Australian national in order to stay in the country and compete in Australia. Muriel agrees to do it, and because the swimmer is so handsome and popular, she too gains all kinds of meaningless popularity. However, during the course of these festivities, more family problems arise (including the not so happy ending of her mom committing suicide), and Muriel discovers a few things about herself and about who her real friends are.
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