- Actors: Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Bill Hunter, Sophie Lee, Roz Hammond
- Directors: P.J. Hogan
- Writers: P.J. Hogan
- Producers: Jocelyn Moorhouse, Lynda House, Michael D. Aglion, Tony Mahood
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Subtitles: English, Swedish, Finnish, Danish
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Disney
- DVD Release Date: 12 Feb 2001
- Run Time: 106 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004CXPV
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,331 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Ever since the late 1970s when the Australian New Wave was in full surge, Down Under directors have delivered movies that often hit you like news from another planet. Offbeat characters, weird narrative twists and a tart mixture of laughs and catastrophe--this is the juice that fuels such flicks as Proof, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom, Heavenly Creatures and, most certainly, Muriel's Wedding. Directed by PJ Hogan (who would go on to helm the Hollywood hit My Best Friend's Wedding), this little gem follows tradition by featuring an authentic misfit: Muriel (Toni Collette), a great, overweight horse of a girl obsessed with getting married and the music of ABBA. Appropriately, we first meet Muriel at a wedding, all trussed up in a leopardskin number she's boosted for the occasion. When her snotty peers insist that she give up the bridal bouquet to someone who might actually get hitched, when one of the guests turns out to be a clerk in the very store where Muriel ripped off her outfit, you've just got to laugh, she's such an unmitigated mess. A loser, her philandering politician father (Bill Hunter) calls her--along with his doormat wife and his other couch-potato offspring. But this movie's no exercise in geek-bashing. As Muriel takes up with feisty Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) and moves from Porpoise Spit to the big city, her good-hearted grin and zest for life draw us in despite hilarious gaffes and mishaps. (Making out with a boy for the first time, Muriel suddenly finds herself awash in styrofoam: the oaf has unzipped the beanbag chair instead of her skin-tight leather pants.) Muriel's Wedding covers territory Hollywood would banish from a comedy--Rhonda's cancer, the suicide of Muriel's mother, a marriage of convenience to an arrogant athlete--yet, like its heroine, it never loses its sense of humour, its will to move on to whatever good thing might happen next. Everyone in the idiosyncratic cast is terrific, but it's Toni Collette's Dancing Queen who makes Muriel's Wedding a cinematic celebration you won't forget. --Kathleen Murphy
Special Features
Full Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
As others have mentioned, this film was really done an incredible disservice by the studio's marketing department. It was made to look like a fun, fluffy comedy strictly for girls, but it's so much more than that. I would genuinely place it among the top ten films that have affected me most in my life (alongside such heavyweights as A Streetcar Named Desire and Schindler's List), because it is one of those films that seem to transcend the medium and shoot you directly in the heart, leaving you feeling you've learned something invaluable about the human condition.
At the centre of the film is an astounding performance by Toni Collette - one that stands with the greatest character studies in cinema history (I know I'm using lots of hyperbole, but this film really justifies it!). She has you howling with laughter one moment and then makes your heart ache the next. As if this isn't enough, the supporting cast is also uniformly amazing. Rachel Griffiths is awesome in a very early role (pre-Six Feet Under of course...), and the actors and actresses playing Muriel's family are all brilliant in their own individual ways - especially her father and mother.
This is a film that WILL make you laugh hysterically at times (and will have you quoting the lines for the rest of your life), but it will also make you cry. And after it has finished, you will feel that your life has been immeasurably enriched.
Watch it. Please.
At the centre of the film is an astounding performance by Toni Collette - one that stands with the greatest character studies in cinema history (I know I'm using lots of hyperbole, but this film really justifies it!). She has you howling with laughter one moment and then makes your heart ache the next. As if this isn't enough, the supporting cast is also uniformly amazing. Rachel Griffiths is awesome in a very early role (pre-Six Feet Under of course...), and the actors and actresses playing Muriel's family are all brilliant in their own individual ways - especially her father and mother.
This is a film that WILL make you laugh hysterically at times (and will have you quoting the lines for the rest of your life), but it will also make you cry. And after it has finished, you will feel that your life has been immeasurably enriched.
Watch it. Please.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I wish I had never seen this film - so that I could see it now for the first tme!
Every actress has a defining role and this is Toni Collette's. In fact casting for the entire film is spot-on.
We meet Muriel/Mariel, the ugly duckling who thinks a wedding (to anyone) will transform her into a swan; her dysunctional family, and barbie-doll "friends". Its hilarious from start to finish though a few scenes are my particular favourite. Who could forget her incredulous husband-to-be's face as she grins triumphantly down the aisle towards him; the Abba dance competetion of course; and the final trouncing of the Barbies ("but I'm beautiful!" squeals one).
With her gutsy friend and downtrdden, tragic mother, Muriel has us rooting for her all along so that finally we notice her warmth and lovely eyes and realise that against all odds she really has turned into a swan.
Every actress has a defining role and this is Toni Collette's. In fact casting for the entire film is spot-on.
We meet Muriel/Mariel, the ugly duckling who thinks a wedding (to anyone) will transform her into a swan; her dysunctional family, and barbie-doll "friends". Its hilarious from start to finish though a few scenes are my particular favourite. Who could forget her incredulous husband-to-be's face as she grins triumphantly down the aisle towards him; the Abba dance competetion of course; and the final trouncing of the Barbies ("but I'm beautiful!" squeals one).
With her gutsy friend and downtrdden, tragic mother, Muriel has us rooting for her all along so that finally we notice her warmth and lovely eyes and realise that against all odds she really has turned into a swan.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is one of my all time favourite movies : it has the ability to make one realise the power one has to shape ones own future. (And the destructive power of letting others have the deciding factor).
Muriel is fat and ugly. She has no job or real friends. She is classed as a 'useless lump' by her politician father and is unsupported by her mother and siblings.
Life is not much fun for Muriel Hislop in the tiny back water town of Porpoise Spit. The only enjoyment for her is listening to Abba songs and dreaming of getting married. Until, one day, her unhappiness forces her to steal from her parents in order to finance an exotic holiday - where she meets an old rebelious classmate who helps Muriel see she has the ability to be someone other than she is......and to engineer the chance of becoming a perfect bride.
This film has a serious side, but on the whole it is delivered with such humour and panache that you more than just empathise with Muriel - you route for her ! Toni Collete is amazing, playing the frumpy girl who matures into a more elegant woman - this is more than just an 'ugly duckling' story. It has great characters with some funny catchphrases ("Deidre Chambers - what a co-incidence !" & " You're Terrible Muriel!" being my 2 favourites ). The story could play it safe by sticking to comedy, but the fact it takes a chance to delve a little deeper than the usual cliches, wins my admiration completely.
This Australian classic is just wonderful. Touching and funny. I think we can all relate to the story being told here and the performances are top notch.
Muriel is fat and ugly. She has no job or real friends. She is classed as a 'useless lump' by her politician father and is unsupported by her mother and siblings.
Life is not much fun for Muriel Hislop in the tiny back water town of Porpoise Spit. The only enjoyment for her is listening to Abba songs and dreaming of getting married. Until, one day, her unhappiness forces her to steal from her parents in order to finance an exotic holiday - where she meets an old rebelious classmate who helps Muriel see she has the ability to be someone other than she is......and to engineer the chance of becoming a perfect bride.
This film has a serious side, but on the whole it is delivered with such humour and panache that you more than just empathise with Muriel - you route for her ! Toni Collete is amazing, playing the frumpy girl who matures into a more elegant woman - this is more than just an 'ugly duckling' story. It has great characters with some funny catchphrases ("Deidre Chambers - what a co-incidence !" & " You're Terrible Muriel!" being my 2 favourites ). The story could play it safe by sticking to comedy, but the fact it takes a chance to delve a little deeper than the usual cliches, wins my admiration completely.
This Australian classic is just wonderful. Touching and funny. I think we can all relate to the story being told here and the performances are top notch.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
muriels wedding
this film is just gorgeous, if you havent seen it, you really must.a feelgood movie, watch with your friends and have a giggle and a nostalgic singalon. Read more
Published 4 months ago by tree
Review
What to say. It seems to watch at two movies at once. The beginning seems to be a stupid '80's movie, then it turns in to an intimate movie with an open breathe end. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mag
bit disappointing
Although Toni Collette is a favourite actress and the quality of the DVD was good, I was disappointed by the content of the film which I found a bit silly.
Published 7 months ago by Ms. J. Kirby
Unusual comedy with the music of Abba
In 1994 hot on the heels of the smash hit Australian film Pricilla Queen of the Dessert came Muriel's Wedding; the cast includes Toni Collette (fairly unknown at the time) and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Grahame
Excellent
im 20, this was out wen i was 5, just got to love this film was watchin it from like 8yr old ... fab film x
Published 16 months ago by amyp
Collette in her greatest role to date
Collette in her greatest role to date... and the one that shot her to stardom! Muriel Heslop leaves sleepy Purpoise Spit to live her life to an ABBA soundtrack. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Rebecca
"You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen"
Living in Porpoise Spit, Australia, Muriel (Toni Collette) is fat, plain, and utterly hopeless, thanks to her father who calls her a 'useless lump. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Kona
Muriel's Wedding DVD
Great service, fast delivery. DVD in excellent condition (new as stated). bargain price, would buy from retailer again. Thankyou
Published on 4 Mar 2010 by Mr. Mark Dailly
muriel's wedding
a gem of a satire : funny and sad at the same time. When the film ends, you start thinking. And if you like ABBA, you'll have the time of your life.
Published on 7 Jan 2010 by elfix
A Modern Classic
Has all the hallmarks of a good old classic story - love, laughter, tears, but it is definitely more than that.
Behind the kitsch (but great! Read more
Behind the kitsch (but great! Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by DEM0210
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