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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Muriel is a shy young woman living in the seaside resort of Porpoise Spit, a suburban wonderland of shopping malls, marine parks, and holiday homes. The excessive expectations of her 'friends' and family cause her to take refuge in a dreamworld of ABBA songs. She also dreams of a Prince Charming who will rescue her from her dull and boring life. Then one day, she steals some money and goes on a tropical vacation where she meets a wacky friend, changes her name to Mariel, and turns her entire world upside down.
Adaptations
- y Muriel's Wedding Ringwood : Penguin , 1994 Z486821 1994 single work novel humour satire
-
Muriel's Wedding : The Musical
Kate Miller-Heidke
(composer),
Keir Nuttall
(composer),
2017
single work
musical theatre
'Muriel Heslop is back! In this highly-anticipated world premiere, the iconic Australian film is set to become an equally iconic laugh-out-loud musical.
'Stuck in a dead-end life in Porpoise Spit, Muriel dreams of the perfect wedding – the white dress, the church, the attention. Unfortunately, there’s one thing missing. A groom. Following her dreams to Sydney, Muriel ends up with everything she ever wanted – a man, a fortune and a million Twitter followers. That’s when things start to go really wrong.
'The film’s original writer-director PJ Hogan has updated his screenplay into a dazzling new stage show, bringing the story into the present but keeping all the irreverence and naughtiness of the film along with its dark edge.' (Production summary)
Notes
-
Study guide, braille, and sound recordings have also been published.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
‘Muriel’s Wedding Was Our North Star’ : The Minds behind Sissy on Their Influencer Horror Film
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 November 2022;'A 90s dark comedy and Australian conwoman Belle Gibson inspired directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes to create their camp gorefest that has fans around the world screaming for more.'
-
The Larrikin Girl : Challenging Archetypes in Australian Cinema
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , October no. 103 2022;'Australian cinema has travelled a varied trajectory since its initial development in the late 19th century. The cinema reflected the developing social and cultural tropes of its time, as the concept of a distinct Australian identity began to form. But it is clear that a colonial history of Australian film focuses very clearly and emphatically along lines of class and gender. Rose Lucas notes that there is a “cluster of dominant, recognisable images in our cinema” which consists of the bushman, the ocker, the ‘mate’, and the ‘battler’, a series of male coded tropes which are stubbornly pervasive within this national cinema. These archetypes have trained a concentrated gaze upon masculinity in Australian cinema, but there has been little space in this cultural landscape for the development of archetypical women in Australia’s cultural history with very few valued traits that are specifically coded female. This resolutely masculine perspective seems to have shaped the nation and the national cinema, and Lucas’s observation highlights the key archetypes as embodied as masculine. But these archetypes, long the sole domain of masculine representation, also have historically encompassed female experiences. In this paper we identify the need to broaden such a framework, and by taking the most Australian and most masculine of forms – the larrikin – we argue that the larrikin girl has been hiding in plain sight across Australian film history.' (Introduction)
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Shoestring Budgets and Disaffected Youth : Why Australian Film Is Ripe for a Mumblecore Revival
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 12 November 2021;'From Friends and Strangers to Hot Mess, there’s a new wave of self-funded films that celebrate the mundane and tap into ‘a national malaise’'
-
Great Aussie Female Movie Characters
2019
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 8 March 2019; -
Muriel's Wedding Inspires Pop Art Exhibition by Brisbane Artist Nordacious
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: ABC News [Online] , July 2016; 'Famous quotes from one of Australia's most popular films have been transformed into artworks that aim to celebrate self-acceptance. ...'
-
Culture Vulture
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 25-26 October 2003; (p. 8)
— Review of Muriel's Wedding 1994 single work film/TV -
Untitled
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , September-October no. 9 2000;
— Review of Muriel's Wedding 1994 single work film/TV -
Cultural Comparisons
2000
single work
review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , September-October no. 9 2000;
— Review of Muriel's Wedding 1994 single work film/TV ; The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 1994 single work film/TV -
Muriel Hides Barbs in Bouquet
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 1-2 October 1994; (p. rev 11)
— Review of Muriel's Wedding 1994 single work film/TV -
Romp On the Bridal Path
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser Magazine , 1 October 1994; (p. 26)
— Review of Muriel's Wedding 1994 single work film/TV -
The Young and the Desperate
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 4 November 2009; (p. 19) -
Battlers Take Top Spot in Movie Poll
2010
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 7 October 2010; (p. 13) -
Tripping on the Light Fantastic : A Bit of a Look at Australian Film
1997
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sydney Studies in English , vol. 23 no. 1997; 'In the beginning is the word: there has to be a script. But even before a word is said there's light, and camera, and action. Films are before all else about light, and about what can be realised through light. That pre-eminence of light was acknowledged in the old-time movie theatres, in the custom, now regrettably lapsed, of having the projection illuminating the screen before the curtains were drawn open, so that the promised world of light could be glimpsed before revelation, symbolically seen through a veil which then parted — and behold, a new heaven and a new earth. Those who arrived late, after the houselights had gone down, followed their own little subdued pool of light, the usherette's torch, down the carpeted aisles.' (Author's abstract)
-
Australian Screen Comedy : An Overview
1996
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 10 no. 2 1996; (p. 7-10) -
See the Girl, Watch that Scene : Fantasy and Desire in Muriel's Wedding
1996
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Continuum : Journal of Media & Cultural Studies , vol. 10 no. 2 1996; (p. 111-122)
Awards
- 1996 nominated Writers Guild of America Award — Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
- 1995 nominated British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards — Best Original Screenplay
- 1994 nominated Australian Film Institute Awards — Best Screenplay, Original
- 1994 won Australian Film Institute Awards — Best Film
- Coast,
- Coast,
- Country towns,
- Sydney, New South Wales,