Muriel's Wedding (1994)

“When I lived in Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for hours and listen to ABBA songs. But since I’ve met you and moved to Sydney, I haven’t listened to one Abba song. That’s because my life is as good as an Abba song. It’s as good as Dancing Queen.”

            When people say they do not like ABBA I usually understand two things: the band is cheesy and their songs are dated. But on the inside I die a little because ABBA is a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. Their most well known songs, like “Dancing Queen”, “Mamma Mia”, and “Waterloo”, are usually bouncy and upbeat and just a lot of fun. I have listened to ABBA a ton I know their songs inside and out. They really do not get the credit they deserve as musicians and vocalists. Do me and yourself a favor listen to “Knowing Me Knowing”, “One of Us”, and “The Winner Takes It All”, listen to how heartbreaking the lyrics, the vocals, and the music are. ABBA is definitely a lot more than “Dancing Queen.”

            Years ago when I saw Mamma Mia! on Broadway I had heard that it was based off a movie called Muriel’s Wedding. Well, the years went by and life got in the way of me actually looking for Muriel’s Wedding to watch. Thanks to the glory that is Netflix I have finally gotten to watch the movie.

            Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) lives in the town of Porpoise Spit, Australia. She failed school and has nothing going for her in her life. Her father constantly puts her and her siblings down for being lazy and no good. Muriel’s mother is constantly day dreaming. Muriel daydreams as well. She listens to ABBA alone in her room all day wishing her life could be like their cherry songs and dreams of getting married.

            At a wedding Muriel catches the flowers. The girls whom she thought were her friends are yuppy bitches and are furious with her for catching the bouquet because she does not even have a boyfriend. A few minutes later Muriel is arrested for having shoplifted the dress she is wearing. She tells the cops her mother bought the dress for her but does not say that when she arrives home. Her father is town councilman and talks the cops out of pressing charges against Muriel.

            Muriel is eventually dumped by her fake yuppy friends. They do not want her coming with them on vacation because she will cramp their style. Her father gets her a job selling cosmetics and her mother gives her a blank check to go out shopping for new clothes. Instead of buying clothes Muriel uses it to go on vacation to the island the other girls are going to. Of course the girls are furious when they see her and one of them even throws a drink in her face. Fortunately, things do get better for Muriel on the trip. She meets a girl named Rhonda who actually went to her high school. Rhonda defends Muriel against the mean girls and even outs one of their husbands who slept with one of the girls. One night Muriel and Rhonda dress up like the two women from ABBA and reenact the music video to “Waterloo.”

            When Muriel comes home, her father is furious and almost has her arrested. She decides to leave and go live in Sydney with Rhonda. For a while life is what she has dreamed. She is away from her family and answers an ad in the paper to marry someone so the person can become a citizen. But of course, there are lessons to be learned and not everything goes the way Muriel would have liked.

            Muriel’s Wedding was good but it was not what I had been expecting. I think I had been expecting something light and the story actually turned out to be a bit heavy.  I felt terrible for Muriel living in a family where there was zero encouragement and no one tried to do anything with themselves. All Muriel wanted was to be on her own and get married. She definitely needed to get away from her toxic family. I was not crazy about how she desperately wanted to get married. I guess I did not like it because I am not like that at all. I have more concrete things to worry about in my life then what my place settings will be or the kind of dress I want. That stuff bores me to tears actually. Anyway, Muriel’s Wedding was good but it is not a movie that needs to be seen. Watch the movie if you like 90s chick flick movies. Oh, and also if you love ABBA songs. ABBA songs can make anyone's day brighter. 

Silent Sundays: His Picture in the Papers (1916)

“Shall a man raised on Pringle’s Products cringe to a gang of cut throats?”

Peter Pringle’s (Douglas Fairbanks) father owns Pringle’s Products that manufactures vegetarian food. He is the only son and as well as the youngest with two older sisters. Pete does not take anything seriously. He works at his father’s factory but he constantly shows up late and has stuff for mixing drinks hidden around his office. He drinks and smokes and gambles; all the things his father will not stand for.

            Cassius Cadwalader, a railroad magnate, only eats Pringle’s Products. He has a daughter named Christine whom he plans on marrying to a vegetarian-eating young man named Melville. He is not exactly the man, or better yet, boy, of Christine’s dreams. Cassius and Christine are invited to the Pringle home for dinner. Pete does not think anything of Christine and quickly becomes bored of the company. He excuses himself and leaves the house. Pete goes to a restaurant and orders the largest steak they have. Christine goes to the same place as well that night. Pete has Christine sit with him and share his large steak.

            Cassius has somehow incurred the ire of a local gang known as the Weazels. The gang leaves a note demanding a large sum of money. Cassius refuses to pay their ransom.

            Christine gives Pete a call at his office. She wants to see him again. After the call Melville comes over. Christine sends him away she has no need for him now. Her father sees what his daughter has done to the young man. He tells her that she will never find anyone as sweet as Melville but of course Christine does not care.

            Pete cannot stop thinking about Christine. He goes to her house and proposes. Her father does really like him that much. Cassius tells Pete he needs to gain a half interest in his father’s company and then Christine can marry him. Unfortunately, since Pete is always late and does nothing for the company, that will be a goal that is difficult for him to obtain. When Pete tells his father, the man just laughs. Pete gets upset and yells that he can get his picture in any paper in New York City. The father tells his son not to come home until he does get his picture in the paper. Pete thinks it will be simple and sets out on his quest to get his face a space in the papers.

            Pete tries several different things such as sending a car he bought over a cliff and pretending he miraculously survived the fall and beating a champion boxer in his first ever boxing match but the police come and raid the fight and destroy the photographs and cameras with Pete’s picture in it.

            Cassius asks Peter’s father him to help fight the Weazels. Pringle finds out that a shipment of his products has not arrived where and when they were supposed to be. The train is currently stuck in Atlantic City. Pete just so happens to be down there after he drunkenly got on a ship that was heading down to Atlantic City. He has no money to get home so he starts walking the tracks. He notices the Weazels are messing with the train signals to derail the train with Pringle and Cadwalader’s products.

            To make a long story short, Pete manages to save the train and the day by taking on the Weazels and changing the sign just in time. He finally gets his picture in the paper.

                                            

            His Picture in the Paper was interesting because Douglas Fairbanks was not being the action hero he would later come to be. He of course did some acrobatic climbing scenes. It was kind of cute seeing Fairbanks being this sort of love sick little boy trying to win the girl’s father. His Picture in the Paper is not a silent film that is a must to watch but it is fun and worth seeing some time.

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 I watched this film because it was filmed in Fort Lee. Triangle, the company who made the film, was located in the town along with several other studios including Paramount and Universal. It was really cool to see the Palisades cliffs and the Hudson in the train scene. I am currently completing my internship at the Fort Lee Museum where they have a decent collection of film artifacts from the early film industry in the town. It is fascinating to learn about the town’s role in film history. Please take the time to visit the Fort Lee Museum and the Fort Lee Film Commission’s websites. And please definitely come and visit the museum if you live in New Jersey and have any interest in film history.  

They Came Together (2014)

Whatever happened to good spoof movies? It seems like after Mel Brooks made Robin Hood: Men in Tights all the spoof movies after that just went to shit. With Brooks’ movies and other such as Airplane they were subtle spoofs. Nothing was in your face or trying to be funny they were just funny. I cannot even tell you how many times I have seen Brooks’ Young Frankenstein or Blazzing Saddles or High Anxiety and I catch things I did not catch the other thousands times I watched them. The only modern movie I can think of that follows in the same line as Brooks’ spoofs has been Wet Hot American Summer from 2001 which spoofed a summer camp in 1980. That movie was written and directed by David Wain and Michael Showalter and they recently wrote and directed They Came Together. Yet again it is a spoof movie and it is one of the best spoofs on the romantic comedy genre.

            Joel (Paul Rudd) and Molly (Amy Poehler) are at dinner with their friends Kyle (Bill Hader) and Karen (Ellie Kemper). Kyle and Karen discuss how they first met and want Joel and Molly to discuss how they first met and fell in love. Right away they say their relationship was like a romantic comedy with the third character being New York City and that if it were to be a movie it would start off with aerial shots of the city. And sure enough it does.

            They say their relationship was hate at first sight. Neither was looking to be in a relationship at the moment. Joel worked for a large corporate candy company and Molly had her own small candy store. Joel’s company was creating a large store right across from Molly’s and planned to put her store out of business. They wind up meeting at a party at their friends house. They hate each other and say really funny and very stupid things.

            After this the movie follows the typical rom-com formula but this being Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd in a comedy made by David Wain and Michael Showalter with so many popular comedic actors the way the story plays out is anything but typical. It takes the typical rom-com clichés and completely blows them out of proportion. I cannot even explain what happens because nothing would be funny you would have to see the movie to understand. There are a lot of running gags that usually happen in rom-coms like a character telling another to wait and then they something important like “Thanks” or “I’m sorry.” Another one has Joel and his younger brother Jake (Max Greenfield) talking about how Jake does not have a job and he is trying to start up a company that will not go anywhere, and that Joel had to raise Jake after their parents died, etc. It's got a montage, crazy parents, crazy ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, and silly life-realization scenes that are just totally genius. 

            They Came Together is absurd, ridiculous, and perfectly entertaining. To me it is one of the best comedies I have ever seen. The cast could not have been better. Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd were fantastic together. I do not think either one of them has a serious bone in their bodies. Christopher Meloni is in a few scenes, yes Stabler from Law and Order: SVU is being funny and hilariously so (if you want to die laughing at him watching Wet Hot American Summer). I just love the way it makes fun of rom-coms. The way rom-coms are written today is just awful. They are so predictable and just stupid. They Came Together shows just how predictable and stupid they have become. Yet you know the characters are just comedic versions of “serious” rom-com characters and, oddly enough, you still root for Joel and Molly to be together.

            My review of They Came Together really does not do the movie justice. Just trust me when I say that if you enjoy comedy movies in any sense you will like this one. As you watch it you can pick out about ten different rom-coms that this movie is making fun of and you will most likely never see them the same way again. As I said it follows in the steps of Mel Brooks and does a pretty damn good job.