P. J. Hogan directs Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths and Bill Hunter in this dark Aussie indie comedy where a sad sack loner steals money from her parents and starts a new life for herself centered around a fantasy wedding.

Australian cinema split two ways until the 1990s. There were the carefully crafted, politically charged dramas and thrillers of the New Wave (see Peter Weller or Bruce Beresford). Or the demented Ozploitation that reached its pinnacle with the Mad Max trilogy. By the last decade of the 20th century though all that talent had fucked off to Hollywood leaving a void for quirkier voices to fill. A lot of the cinema Australia exported was independent, satirical and gaudy. Far more interested in skewering suburban attitudes than rampaging through the outback or exposing top level corruption. Muriel’s Wedding is probably the peak of this second cycle. The audience who embraced it love it. I find it way too shrill and tonally discombobulating. It can be really camp, then really bleak. Switching on an unsettling dime. The closest thing it probably matches is John Waters later works where he had professional crews and big name stars to play with. There are iconic moments here… ABBA is utilised so well that you know Mamma Mia couldn’t exist without Muriel. Any film that introduced both Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths to the world has to be worth a movie fan’s time. When I was 15 this felt like a waste of a video rental. These days it still isn’t for me but I can at least see it’s value.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Strictly Ballroom (1992)