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Muriel's Wedding
UK DVD Cover
Directed by	P. J. Hogan
Produced by	Lynda House, Jocelyn Moorhouse
Written by	P. J. Hogan
Starring	Toni Collette Rachel Griffiths Bill Hunter Sophie Lee Daniel Lapaine Rosalind Hammond
Music by	Peter Best
Cinematography	Martin McGrath
Editing by	Jill Bilcock
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	10 March 1995 (USA)
Running time	106 min.
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	$3,000,000
All Movie Guide profile

Muriel's Wedding is a 1994 Australian film written and directed by P. J. Hogan.

Hogan, whose screenplay incorporated a number of events in his own life, cast relatively unknown Toni Collette (who gained 40 pounds for the role) and Rachel Griffiths as the leads. Collette received a Golden Globe Award nomination as Best Actress, and Griffiths won both the Australian Film Critics Award and the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress. The worldwide success of the film was instrumental in propelling the careers of the director and his stars.

A socially awkward and naïve "ugly duckling" obsessed with the music of ABBA, Muriel Heslop is the target of ridicule by "more modern" and downright snobby girls she thought were her friends who oust her from their group with the explanation, "You bring us down". She also is a perpetual daydreamer who yearns for a glamorous wedding and marriage to a man who will help elevate her from her personal limitations and free her from a tedious life dominated by a demanding and often psychologically abusive father. She leaves her family behind in "Porpoise Spit" (a fictional town similar to Tweed Heads, New South Wales) to live in Sydney and follow her dream, only to discover life's realities continue to present obstacles she must overcome in order to achieve real growth.

Although ostensibly a comedy, Muriel's Wedding deals with such serious issues as cancer and suicide, and the overriding theme of following one's dream is regularly punctuated by scenes depicting the disappointments and loss of self-esteem that frequently accompany the quest. The film is now classified as a cult film.

• Toni Collette - Muriel Heslop/Mariel Heslop-Van Arckle
• Bill Hunter - Bill Heslop
• Rachel Griffiths - Rhonda Epinstalk
• Daniel Lapaine - David Van Arckle
• Sophie Lee - Tania Degano
• Jeanie Drynan - Betty Heslop
• Gabby Millgate - Joanie Heslop

The songs of ABBA form the backbone of the film's soundtrack. Songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson allowed their use in the movie (and even permitted one of their hits, "Dancing Queen", to be adapted as an orchestral piece) as long as the band received a percentage of the film's profits [1].

Songs used in the film include

• Dancing Queen - ABBA (Listen (help·info))
• Mamma Mia - ABBA
• Waterloo - ABBA
• Fernando - ABBA
• I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do - ABBA
• Sugar Baby Love - The Rubettes
• The Tide Is High - Blondie
• I Go To Rio - Peter Allen
• Happy Together - The Turtles
• Bridal Dancing Queen - The Wedding Band
• Muriel's Wedding - The Wedding Band
• Lonely Hearts - The Wedding Band

• IMDb listing
• Rotten Tomatoes listing
• Roger Ebert's review
• Muriel's Wedding at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Urban Cinefile Feature Article

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