Samuel Goldwyn Theater
8949 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA, 90211
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Color. 106 minutes. Courtesy of Miramax / Park Circus. 35mm print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
Written and directed by P.J. Hogan. Produced by Lynda House, Jocelyn Moorhouse.
Cast: Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Gennie Nevinson, Matt Day, Daniel Lapaine, Sophie Lee, Belinda Jarrett, Rosalind Hammond, Pippa Grandison, Chris Haywood, Daniel Wyllie, Gabby Millgate.
With host Susannah Grant and special guest Toni Collette
In her daydreams, Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) is a beautiful bride walking down the aisle to the tune of an ABBA song, the envy of all her friends. In reality, she lives in the small town of Porpoise Spit, Australia, and is bullied daily by her corrupt father and shallow girlfriends. One day, after showing up on a holiday trip that she was neither invited to nor can afford, she runs into Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), an old classmate. Rhonda’s self-assured independence and wry sense of humor inspire Muriel, and they become fast friends. Together, they move to Sydney to begin a new life free from judging eyes. But life can’t stay perfect forever, and soon their friendship is tested by an assortment of tragicomic events.
A cult favorite of 1990s independent cinema, this film helped launch Toni Collette’s international career. Alongside Rachel Griffiths, she expertly fronts this revisionist Cinderella story in which two women find each other despite their struggles with gender, class and disability. Ultimately, Muriel’s Wedding is an emphatic celebration of pop music and female friendship, telling a widely accessible story about learning to love yourself in a world that assigns value based on how well you fit into a mold.