Muriel's Wedding, a
movie from 1994, is written and directed by P.J. Hogan and produced by Linda
House and Jocelyn Moorhouse, who also produced Proof. The cinematography is done
by Martin McGrath, who also did this for Spellbinder (and some other movies that
are featured here). It was nominated for a bunch of awards, including AFI, BAFTA
and Golden Globe. It won 4 AFI awards, and 1 APRA Music award.
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Muriel Heslop is a not very popular girl in her twenties, who lives with her
parents. While listening to the music of her favourite band: Abba, she daydreams
of marrying in a beautiful white dress. Her selfesteem suffers a lot from the
constant remarks of her father, who tells her she is use-less, and from her
friends who are not really friends anyway. When she is arrested at someones
wedding party for stealing a dress, her friends decide it has been enough. They
are going on a vacation and don't want her to be around them anymore.
With a lot of money that she takes from her parents, she follows the girls to
the vacation island. There she meets Rhonda, a former classmate who becomes a
first real friend of her. When she returns home, she sees that her parents have
found out about the money and she flees with Rhonda to Sydney. There she starts
a new life, changing her name to Mariel, and working at a video store. She gets
a first date, and she feels fabulous.
On the night of the date, Rhonda falls and can't move her legs anymore. In
hospital she is diagnosed with cancer. They operate immediately, and she has to
do revalidation. Meanwhile, Mariel visits about all wedding dress shops in
the city, and is caught by Rhonda, trying out another wedding dress. Mariel
collapses and tells her that she doesn't want to be her former self anymore.
At the homefront, her dad leaves her mother and starts to live with Dei-dre, a
business partner. Rhonda's cancer has returned, and she will never be able to
walk again. On the other hand, Mariel finally has her wedding, but its a sham
marriage with swimmer David Van Arckle, who needs this to be able to stay in
Australia. At this point, Mariel has lost everything she used to stand for, she
now has become like her former friends.
When Mariel's dad files for a divorce from her mother, her mother com-mits
suicide. This brings Mariel back to earth. She calls herself Muriel again,
breaks up with David, and goes back to Sydney with Rhonda.
| Toni Collette |
as Muriel Heslop /
Mariel Heslop-Van Arckle |
| Bill Hunter |
as Bill Heslop |
| Rachel Griffiths |
as Rhonda |
| Sophie Lee |
as Tania Degano |
| Rosalind Hammond |
as Cheryl |
| Belinda Jarrett |
as Janine |
| Pippa Grandison |
as Nicole |
| Jeanie Drynan |
as Betty Heslop |
| Daniel Wyllie |
as Perry Heslop |
| Gabby Millgate |
as Joanie Heslop |
| Gennie Nevinson |
as Deidre Chambers |
| Matt Day |
as Brice Nobes |
| Chris Haywood |
as coach Ken Blundell |
| Daniel Lapaine |
as David Van Arckle |
| Susan Prior |
as girl at wedding |
| Cecily Polson |
as Tania's mother |
| Nathan Kaye |
as Peter 'Chook' Vernell |
| Rob Steele |
as Leo Higgins |
| Geneviève Picot |
as store detective |
| Richard Sutherland |
as constable Saunders |
| Steve Smith |
as constable Gillespie |
| Katie Saunders |
as Penelope Heslop |
| Dene Kermond |
as Malcolm Heslop |
| Heather Mitchell |
as bridal manageress #1 |
| and others |
as others |
This movie's copyright is by its owner(s).
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