Muriel's Wedding
Short description
Muriel Heslop is a young woman living in a small Australian seaside town, unhappy at home and treated as an outsider by the friends she trails after. She escapes into daydreams of a glamorous wedding, a fantasy fed by pop music and bridal catalogues, while her domineering father and the limited world around her keep her from the life she pictures. After a chance encounter with another woman who does not fit in, Rhonda Epinstalk, Muriel leaves for Sydney, where she tries to remake herself and find the marriage she has long imagined.
The film is P.J. Hogan's directorial debut, and he also wrote the screenplay; Lynda House and Jocelyn Moorhouse produced. Toni Collette plays Muriel, with Bill Hunter as her father, Rachel Griffiths as Rhonda, and Sophie Lee, Jeanie Drynan and Gennie Nevinson among the credited cast of 62. Hogan went on to direct My Best Friend's Wedding, Peter Pan and Confessions of a Shopaholic, among other films.
Released in 1994 and running 106 minutes, Muriel's Wedding blends comedy, drama and romance, and was made for about 9 million dollars, earning roughly 57 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.3/10 from around 45,000 votes and on TMDB 6.8/10 from about 500 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1/10 from 49 reviews places it in similar territory to the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Bill Hunter (1940-2011) starred in Stephan Elliott’s comedy “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1994) and in this film simultaneously. This required him to have different hairstyles and beard lengths (i.e., different wigs) and to be in different parts of the country. Both films became very popular with audiences in many different countries, and both used music by the group ABBA.
- The film's screenwriter and director, P.J. Hogan, wanted to use music by the group ABBA in the film. He applied for permission, but was denied. Then Hogan decided to fly to Europe to appeal directly to the band members. He was granted permission, but on the condition that the group would receive their percentage. The film proved commercially successful and even led to the creation of an extremely successful Broadway musical, which was later adapted into Phyllida Lloyd's film “Mamma MIA!” (2008).
- Childhood photographs of the actors who played the family members were used as pictures in the family album.
- In the character of Muriel, P.J. Hogan portrayed himself, and the inspiration for her actions came from Hogan's sister, who appropriated $15,000 of her father's capital and ran away to Sydney with a friend.
- Seven weeks before filming began, Toni Collette gained almost 20 kg for the role.
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