Nia Vardalos Takes a Humorous Tour of Greece in My Life in Ruins
Written: Jun 11 '09
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Funny, entertaining movie with likable main character.
Cons: Somewhat predictable. Could have been more character development.
The Bottom Line: My Life in Ruins is a fun, entertaining movie that is worth seeing, especially for people not interested in the other movies out right now.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: My Life in Ruins |
In 2002, Nia Vardalos charmed moviegoers with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a very fun, entertaining romantic comedy. That movie started out in limited theaters and then as the positive word of mouth spread, it went to more theaters. Vardalos has done a few other projects since then and I've enjoyed the ones I've seen. I've been interested in seeing her new movie, My Life in Ruins since I first saw a trailer for it.
Before I discuss My Life in Ruins, I want to make it clear that this movie is not a continuation of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. After seeing the movie, I was double checking some cast information and discovered that some people believed that the movie was a sequel to the earlier movie and were confused because they thought the main character was already married. Nia Vardalos plays the main characters, who are Greek, in both movies, but the women are clearly different characters.
A Greek American woman, Georgia, is working as a tour guide in Greece. She isn't that happy with her job since the tourists would rather go shopping or spend time on a beach instead of learning about Greek history. It does make things more challenging since she gets assigned groups that seem more troublesome and she has to take the ancient bus with a broken air conditioner while Nico, the other guide, gets the new bus and the nicer tourists. Georgia isn't happy when Prokopis, a man she thinks is creepy, is her driver for her latest tour. She has a lot to deal with during the tour and actually sees the good in her group and realizes some things about herself as well.
The plot for My Life in Ruins isn't complicated and there aren't any mysteries to be solved or surprises to be shared. That makes things straightforward and may disappoint viewers who would prefer something a bit more complex. Certain aspects are the more are rather predictable, something else that will probably disappoint some viewers. Even though the plot isn't complex, there is enough happening to keep things interesting. I still think the movie is fun and entertaining and is worth seeing, especially for people who like Vardalos or who aren't interested in the other movies out right now.
A little bit of time is taken to introduce Georgia and her situation when My Life in Ruins begins. Some information, like about how she came to live in Greece and work as a tour guide, is shared in a voice over by Georgia. The voice over is only used during the first few minutes and last few minutes of the movie. Georgia's boss, Maria, and the other tour guide Nico, are briefly shown before Georgia meets her new tour group. Prokopis is also introduced during that time. Not much is shared about any of the character at that point, though more comes out about some of them as the movie progresses.
Georgia and her tour group end up in some funny situations throughout My Life in Ruins. The tourists themselves are funny, though some of them are stereotypes, which might bother some viewers. The Australians are always drinking huge cans of beer and talking in slang that makes no sense to anyone else. The American couple act like idiots and the recently divorced women from Spain say they aren't interested in men anymore but they flirt with just about every man they meet. Some of the humor comes from the differences in culture and it manages to work fine, though some of those things might offend some viewers. I think the humor works well overall for the movie. Certain things, like the situation with the horrible tour bus, are a bit silly, but they still work. Some of the jokes are a bit more risque, but they didn't go into raunchy territory.
My Life in Ruins is set in Greece and follows a tour around the country to some of the well known ruins in the country. The movie was filmed in Greece and Spain. I'm not sure which scenes were filmed in Spain. According to something I read after seeing the movie, it is the first time an American studio has been allowed to film at the Acropolis. Scenes were also set at Delphi, Epidaurus, and Olympia. I did enjoy seeing those places and the way they were used makes sense for the movie. Some other places, like a few cities and shopping areas, are also shown, though I'm not sure where those places were. Some things about Greek people are shared which did seem like stereotypes that could upset some people.
Georgia is just focused on her work and trying to figure out what she is going to do with her life when My Life in Ruins begins. She isn't interested in romance and at one point, she tells Prokopis how long it has been since she had sex - though she doesn't realize he understands English at that point. Some romance does blossom over the course of the movie. There are some sexual discussions and sexual situations, though nothing that is that graphic or explicit. It is clear that some characters have sex without there being any actual sex scenes. Some skin is shown in a few scenes, but there isn't any nudity. The sexual content shouldn't offend anyone, though it is slightly stronger than what was done in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The sexual content that is featured caused the movie to be rated PG-13. There isn't any offensive language in the movie.
There really isn't much in the way of development for any of the characters in My Life in Ruins, which is disappointing, but I was still able to enjoy the movie. Georgia is developed the most since she is the main character. She loves ancient Greece and the ruins, though she is frequently frustrated because the tourists she deals with don't care about learning and just want to buy a bunch of souvenirs. She has made her tours educational and doesn't leave time for fun activities like going to the beach. She does start to change and realize that taking time for fun is a good thing. I think Georgia is likable overall and I liked Nia Vardalos in the part.
Georgia's boss Maria is only shown in a few scenes. From those few scenes, she doesn't seem like that nice of a woman. Nico, the other tour guide, pops up more frequently and he comes across as a huge jerk. Prokopis is around more since he is driving the bus for Georgia's group. He asks to be called Poupi and doesn't say much for most of the movie. He does seem like a nice guy, though it would have been nice if he was more developed. He did look a bit creepy like Georgia said at first, but that changes as the movie progresses and he ends up being very nice to look at. Alexis Georgoulis, an actor from Greece, does well in the part. Prokopis's nephew Doudi turns up in a few scenes later in the movie.
Most of the members of Georgia's tour group are flat characters. Irv is a sort of grumpy man who keeps cracking jokes that aren't that funny. He is probably developed more than the other tourists and he ends up being a much nicer character than he seems at first. Richard Dreyfus is fine in the part. Big Al and Kim are a married couple from somewhere in the United States. They do act like idiots most of the time and call Georgia Angie. Harland Williams and Rachel Dratch are fine in the parts. Dr. Tullen is not happy with many things connected to the tour and she complains a lot. Her husband is a bit more easy going while their daughter Caitlin seems to be in a perpetually grumpy mood. Caroline Goodall, Ian Ogilvy, and Sophie Stuckey really don't have a lot to do. Rita Wilson turns up briefly in a small part. Nia Vardalos's husband Ian Gomez makes a small appearance as a kind of nasty hotel clerk.
Lala and Lena are recently divorced women from Spain who just seem to be around without doing much for most of the movie. Marc is some kind of executive for the International House of Pancakes, a fact he loves to tell people. He seems nice enough, but he is rather boring. Gator is a young, mostly clueless man from Florida. I think he is still in college. I'm not sure what the names of the Australians are since I honestly can't remember hearing their names. They were always drinking cans of beer and using unique slang. Dorcus and Barnaby are an older couple on the tour. I don't remember hearing him say anything. Dorcus has a little more to do and stands out a bit more thanks to her way of shopping. There were three older woman who didn't speak English who were also part of the group that were barely shown. The cast for those characters is fine, though most of them really don't have much to do.
Main Cast
Sheila Bernette - Dorcus
Jareb Dauplaise - Gator
Rachel Dratch - Kim
Richard Dreyfus - Irv
Alexis Georgoulis - Prokopis
Caroline Goodall - Dr. Tullen
Alistair McGowan - Nico
Ian Ogilvy - Mr. Tullen
Sophie Stuckey - Caitlin
Nia Vardalos - Georgia
Harland Williams - Big Al
Donald Petrie - Director
My Life in Ruins is a mostly fun, entertaining movie. It doesn't have the same charm as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but it is still worth seeing. Certain things could have been better, but I don't think it is as bad as many of the critics have claimed. The movie isn't for everyone and it will probably appeal more to women than men. Everyone in the theater when I saw it enjoyed it.
I would have given this movie three and a half stars. Since I can't, I decided to round up to four.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Recommended:
Yes
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