Director: P.J. Hogan
Muriel Heslop: Toni Collette
Rhonda: Rachel Griffiths

Gosh but the Australians can do "quirky" as a film genre to perfection, can't they? It is just admirable. Honestly, if Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were the only movie that they ever produced, it would still be worth a hundred Hugh Grant vehicles. There's a terrific Australian movie that I saw where the family defends its rights against the government who tries to exercise eminent domain over their property to expand some airport runways. It was brilliant. For g-d's sake, run, don't walk to your local movie rental palace. Get them to tell you title since I can't remember it off hand. See it now.

The nice thing about Muriel's Wedding is that the characters are uncomfortably human, but they're not the funhouse mirror caricatures you see in John Waters' films. Not that I have anything per se against John Waters' contributions to American cinema, mind you, but aside from the Ricki Lake character in Hairspray, would you want to go out to White Castle to eat with any of these people? Not likely. But you'd want to get to know Muriel and Rhonda. You'd freely admit to wanting to sit around driking jug wine with them and snorting with laughter over stupid stuff. Now that's character development.

Muriel is trying to escape her family and her horrifically named hometown of Porpoise Spit by getting someone who she perceives as a prince to marry her. There is no salvation in just being married, kids. No matter what the magazines, TV and your female relatives say. Oh, and the other thing about this movie that has it all over American flicks is an understated treatment of disability. Wheelchairs without sap and melodrama — brilliant concept. You can tell they wouldn't let Robin Williams within a thousand miles of wherever they were shooting this flick.

Bottom line: Girl chases boy and dream of being married, mistaking both for happiness. Finds happiness in friendship and self instead. Awww.