Muriel’s Wedding

Muriel’s Wedding is one of those well-it’s-about-this-but-it’s-not-really-about-this kinds of films. If you couldn’t tell by the title, the 1994 Australian movie follows a woman on her quest to get hitched. She’s hindered by her own lack of confidence — derived mostly from her weight issues and not-so-supportive family — and her tendency toward wacky impulses such as draining her father’s bank account to fund a trip to a tropical paradise. But the plot only provides the backdrop (i.e., the thing the movie is/isn’t about) for the real focus: Muriel’s battle with confidence, her best friend/business partner’s battle with cancer and her mother’s losing battle with suicide. It’s all set to the music of everybody’s favorite Swedes, ABBA. Oh, did we mention it’s actually a comedy? Yeah, -seriously.

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More About

• Toni Collette
• P.J. Hogan
• ABBA
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

The film, directed by P.J. Hogan (known in America for her efforts behind the camera in My Best Friend’s Wedding), was nominated for and won a slew of Australia Film Institute Awards including Best Film (winner), Best Actress (winner, Toni Collette as Muriel), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Muriel’s Wedding has become an international cult hit for its tackling of subjects most of Hollywood would be too scared to take on, let alone add a laugh track to. 8:30 p.m. Domy Books, 1709 Westheimer. For information, call 713-523-3669 or visit www.domystore.com. Free.
Wed., Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m., 2008