Beautiful write up, Brent. You captured it all perfectly. It brought back memories of watching it back in the day. I even vaguely recall having to write an essay on it for English!
I remember seeing Muriel’s Wedding at the cinema. It marked, as you say Brent, an Australian film renaissance and of Australians heading back to the movies after many years of staying home and watching movies on the VCR. Thank you for the reminder!
In 1994, when this film came out, I was at a crossroads in my life. I saw this movie, and it struck a chord in me. There were only a few people in the theater the night I went to see it. I loved it so much that I came back a few days later to see it a second time because I knew it would be leaving town after playing just one week to such light attendance. I was the only one in the theater the second time I went. The scene where Muriel puts the wedding ring on the table was a pivotal moment for me. Also, the bridal Dancing Queen theme still gets me to this day. I saw Priscilla during that same period of ABBA resurgence, and while I loved it, it didn’t quite touch me the way Muriel’s Wedding did (Muriel not Mariel.) When Muriel goes back home to Porpoise Spit, you can feel that she’s a changed woman. I absolutely love the closing moments of the film. I wanted it to go on forever. Can you imagine a sequel? I don’t think that magic could be captured again. But then, if ABBA can improbably reunite, maybe Muriel and Rhonda have one more story left in them, too.
That's really beautiful! I wonder if it was well-attended when I saw it.
Yes, Priscilla was...fine. Funny. But nothing like Muriel -- or Mariel? LOL -- which I obviously think is fantastic.
This is a movie where I think the "imagined" sequel is best -- Muriel and Rhonda in a wheelchair living their best lives in Sydney, always having a ball.
I saw this movie 30 years ago living in Australia and have been a fan of Aussie movies. I have seen it numerous times and have recommended it to my movie friends. One of the best!!
As someone who’s not “up” on the lingo of cultural critique, I love how well you manage to blend that lingo in with—you know, real words—to capture and communicate the essence of creativity.
Watching the clip you included, I sighed with relief once again that although I was never in any in-crowd or click, watching those phenomena from outside of them gave me a sense of perspective I might not otherwise have gained. And what I saw made me glad I was not on the inside of any of it. Even so, I could feel Muriel’s angst, her despair; so now I want to see the whole film.
After the controlled chaos of having seven people for T-Day dinner (remember Thanksgiving, you world-traveler you?), hubby retired early and I watched Muriel/Mariel. The trope of getting what you thought you wanted and ending up with something different that turned to be better is something I like to weave into my own stories, so I enjoyed that aspect. I usually find Australian products to be just zany enough to be fun, and this was no exception. I could have done with a little less coverage of her family, though; that seemed overdone, though maybe it's an Aussie thing (?). Anyway, thanks for the recommendation. Enjoy your next home!
This one's been on my "I need to watch that again" list for a long while, since I only hazily remember it from way back when. I'll bump it up the queue!
Incidentally, on the topic of Australian film, one of the unpopular opinions I loudly stick by is that Strictly Ballroom is ten times better than Dirty Dancing. Hill I am dying on.
That's a totally fine hill, I'll join you. That said, I had never seen Dirty Dancing until about three years ago. I had always simply assumed I would hate it. But I watched it and...I thought it worked! I could see why it was the phenomenon I was. I also read Jennifer Grey's biography, which was fantastic. Great art? Nah. But a LOT better than the silly teen romp I thought it was!
(Also, NO ONE thought it would do ANYTHING. It wasn't a movie made from cynicism. It was a labor of love.)
DD definitely has its charms (especially the two leads - and excellent dancing!), and I totally memorized the soundtrack like everyone else who was in eighth grade when it came out, ha. I didn't realize it was a runaway hit! I think it's one of those, though, that upon revisiting, came across as grimmer and more aimless than I remembered. I feel like SB tells both the underdog-dance story and the romance better, and with more fun and color.
It's funny, 15 or so years ago, everyone was going nuts for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. So I read it, and I thought it was UTTERLY RIDICULOUS. Just non-stop angst-porn that I didn't buy AT ALL. Just one thing on top of another thing, in a kind of Perils of Pauline kind of way. And the movie just totally leaned into that. But everyone else was LOVING this thing that felt so so so false and silly to me. And in the end, I realized, "Oh, wow, this isn't for me. When I was a teenager, I loved angst too. Dead Poet's Society is probably a 'bad' movie too, but I loved it at the time. This genre helps teenagers deal with runaway emotions, maybe?" That said, I do think movies like Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom are operating on a--what? More universal level? Or maybe just a better "movie" level. I could be wrong, but I don't think people are going to be watching Perks of Being a Wallflower or Dirty Dancing in 50 years.
Absolutely—I ate up angst and melodrama as a teen. (I remember watching at least one literal soap opera in high school!) And I thought for a while that I'd be an adult who loves YA forever. But sometime within the last ten years, I've found that I'm kind of over most of it, at least for the time being. The exceptions have been those that do appeal on a more universal age level. I know I read Perks of Being a Wallflower, once, and I saw the movie (also once), and I don't remember a ton about it, so it must not have left that profound an impression on me either. :D
Re: YA. Yeah, me too, big-time. I recognize that most of any genre is mediocre, and the great stuff is rare, but it's interesting when you realize you're no longer willing to put up with (what you perceive as) mediocrity in order to find the great stuff.
Beautiful write up, Brent. You captured it all perfectly. It brought back memories of watching it back in the day. I even vaguely recall having to write an essay on it for English!
Thank you! And wow, liberal teacher.
I remember seeing Muriel’s Wedding at the cinema. It marked, as you say Brent, an Australian film renaissance and of Australians heading back to the movies after many years of staying home and watching movies on the VCR. Thank you for the reminder!
You're very welcome!
In 1994, when this film came out, I was at a crossroads in my life. I saw this movie, and it struck a chord in me. There were only a few people in the theater the night I went to see it. I loved it so much that I came back a few days later to see it a second time because I knew it would be leaving town after playing just one week to such light attendance. I was the only one in the theater the second time I went. The scene where Muriel puts the wedding ring on the table was a pivotal moment for me. Also, the bridal Dancing Queen theme still gets me to this day. I saw Priscilla during that same period of ABBA resurgence, and while I loved it, it didn’t quite touch me the way Muriel’s Wedding did (Muriel not Mariel.) When Muriel goes back home to Porpoise Spit, you can feel that she’s a changed woman. I absolutely love the closing moments of the film. I wanted it to go on forever. Can you imagine a sequel? I don’t think that magic could be captured again. But then, if ABBA can improbably reunite, maybe Muriel and Rhonda have one more story left in them, too.
That's really beautiful! I wonder if it was well-attended when I saw it.
Yes, Priscilla was...fine. Funny. But nothing like Muriel -- or Mariel? LOL -- which I obviously think is fantastic.
This is a movie where I think the "imagined" sequel is best -- Muriel and Rhonda in a wheelchair living their best lives in Sydney, always having a ball.
Can you please filmed me please I beg you!
Let me filmed there I beg you!
I saw this movie 30 years ago living in Australia and have been a fan of Aussie movies. I have seen it numerous times and have recommended it to my movie friends. One of the best!!
Isn't it great?? :-)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time!!
Me too!
As someone who’s not “up” on the lingo of cultural critique, I love how well you manage to blend that lingo in with—you know, real words—to capture and communicate the essence of creativity.
Watching the clip you included, I sighed with relief once again that although I was never in any in-crowd or click, watching those phenomena from outside of them gave me a sense of perspective I might not otherwise have gained. And what I saw made me glad I was not on the inside of any of it. Even so, I could feel Muriel’s angst, her despair; so now I want to see the whole film.
Thank you.
You're welcome. LOL
Let me know what you think.
After the controlled chaos of having seven people for T-Day dinner (remember Thanksgiving, you world-traveler you?), hubby retired early and I watched Muriel/Mariel. The trope of getting what you thought you wanted and ending up with something different that turned to be better is something I like to weave into my own stories, so I enjoyed that aspect. I usually find Australian products to be just zany enough to be fun, and this was no exception. I could have done with a little less coverage of her family, though; that seemed overdone, though maybe it's an Aussie thing (?). Anyway, thanks for the recommendation. Enjoy your next home!
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it.
You may be right about too much of the family.
This one's been on my "I need to watch that again" list for a long while, since I only hazily remember it from way back when. I'll bump it up the queue!
Incidentally, on the topic of Australian film, one of the unpopular opinions I loudly stick by is that Strictly Ballroom is ten times better than Dirty Dancing. Hill I am dying on.
That's a totally fine hill, I'll join you. That said, I had never seen Dirty Dancing until about three years ago. I had always simply assumed I would hate it. But I watched it and...I thought it worked! I could see why it was the phenomenon I was. I also read Jennifer Grey's biography, which was fantastic. Great art? Nah. But a LOT better than the silly teen romp I thought it was!
(Also, NO ONE thought it would do ANYTHING. It wasn't a movie made from cynicism. It was a labor of love.)
DD definitely has its charms (especially the two leads - and excellent dancing!), and I totally memorized the soundtrack like everyone else who was in eighth grade when it came out, ha. I didn't realize it was a runaway hit! I think it's one of those, though, that upon revisiting, came across as grimmer and more aimless than I remembered. I feel like SB tells both the underdog-dance story and the romance better, and with more fun and color.
It's funny, 15 or so years ago, everyone was going nuts for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. So I read it, and I thought it was UTTERLY RIDICULOUS. Just non-stop angst-porn that I didn't buy AT ALL. Just one thing on top of another thing, in a kind of Perils of Pauline kind of way. And the movie just totally leaned into that. But everyone else was LOVING this thing that felt so so so false and silly to me. And in the end, I realized, "Oh, wow, this isn't for me. When I was a teenager, I loved angst too. Dead Poet's Society is probably a 'bad' movie too, but I loved it at the time. This genre helps teenagers deal with runaway emotions, maybe?" That said, I do think movies like Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom are operating on a--what? More universal level? Or maybe just a better "movie" level. I could be wrong, but I don't think people are going to be watching Perks of Being a Wallflower or Dirty Dancing in 50 years.
Absolutely—I ate up angst and melodrama as a teen. (I remember watching at least one literal soap opera in high school!) And I thought for a while that I'd be an adult who loves YA forever. But sometime within the last ten years, I've found that I'm kind of over most of it, at least for the time being. The exceptions have been those that do appeal on a more universal age level. I know I read Perks of Being a Wallflower, once, and I saw the movie (also once), and I don't remember a ton about it, so it must not have left that profound an impression on me either. :D
Re: YA. Yeah, me too, big-time. I recognize that most of any genre is mediocre, and the great stuff is rare, but it's interesting when you realize you're no longer willing to put up with (what you perceive as) mediocrity in order to find the great stuff.
Yep. Maybe it’s part of becoming wiser as we mature. 😄