Comedy
Review: ‘My Life in Ruins’
If you saw ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ and you liked it then you’re probably going to see ‘My Life in Ruins’ as well. If this describes you, then you’ll probably like this movie, but its not quite as “on the money” as ‘Greek Wedding’ so I don’t foresee the box office being as staggering of a success as ‘Greek Wedding’ was. ‘My Life in Ruins’ marks the big screen return of the beloved 47-year old Canadian that everyone fell in love with from ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’. What…? You didn’t know Nia Vardalos was a Canuck?
The story follows middle-aged American Georgia (Vardalos) who is living in Greece and working as an under paid and under appreciated tour guide to make ends meet while trying to land a professorship teaching collegiate ancient history. Georgia is incredibly knowledgeable but lacks the natural flair and fun-loving personality that makes a successful tour guide, which consistently gets her stuck with the “loser” groups of tourists that only want to shop for souvenirs.
‘My Life in Ruins’ revolves around her experience guiding Group B on what she decides will be her final tour before quiting to pursue her teaching career full-time. Her regular bus driver is in jail, so she gets stuck with a creepy, hairy silent replacement named Poupi (Alexis Georgoulis) and a beaten old bus with a busted air conditioner. Even worse, Group B is perhaps the most annoying and troublesome tour group she’s ever had. The group consists of the British upper class Tullens and their manic-depressive daughter Caitlin, the Spanish duo of hot divorcees Lala and Lena, Marc the obsessed IHOP franchise salesman, Sue the elderly kleptomaniac and her frail husband Ken, and Gator the dim-witted frat-boy college football jock.
Some of the best parts of the movie however belong to three actors. Kim (Rachel Dratch) and Big Al (Harland Williams) play the ignorant annoying American couple and dish up a large portion of the laughs, especially from Williams who has this type of role mastered. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Richard Dreyfuss delivers an enjoyable performance as Irv, an obnoxiously playful senior citizen who is equally wise as he is funny, or at least as funny as he believes himself to be. Irv becomes something of a manifestation of the Greek philosophy that Geogia attempts to teach her group of tourists, helping her to get past herself and open up to life and its possibilities.
‘My Life in Ruins’ actually starts off slow, struggling to pull its pieces together but does eventually manage to whip itself into shape and ultimately results in a relatively satisfying romantic comedy that is cute, sweet and all that sort of stuff that hits home with the female audiences. While the movie is mostly superficial, there is an underlying quality to the story, especially between Georgia and Irv, that hits a chord deeper than your typical romantic comedy.
One of the best parts of the movie is the breathtaking scenery and the ancient architecture, which for a geek like myself, is almost worth the ticket price alone. Overall, the target demographic for ‘My Life in Ruins’ is obvious and will likely do well, but fear the timing of its release will hold back sales a bit. Some of the humor is a bit forced, but the movie is funny and has enough appeal for both sexes to make it a decent date flick, for those of you looking for an opportunity.
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