My Life in Ruins aka Driving Aphrodite is one of my favourite chick flicks. This movie was savaged by critics upon release and was not a major financial success unlike Vardalos' previous outing - My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The script is a by-the-numbers affair - uptight leading lady, stereotypical characters on a road trip and a cliched happy ending.But this odd mix works for me. I have viewed it multiple times, laughed at the silly jokes and would do so again.
Georgia, played by Nia Vardalos, is an American who moved to Greece because of her passion for classical history. She works as a tour guide while awaiting a better job preferably one hat involves teaching history. She is not a very successful tour guide though, partly because her people skills are poor, partly because she has a low opinion of the Greeks' easy going approach to life and also because she insists on foisting her 'boring' lessons in history on tourists that just want to have a good time amongst beautiful ruins.
This seems a bit odd, because in 'real life' not everyone pays to go on a tour bus to eat ice creams and buy cheap trinkets. Some people do actually care about classical history. However, she ends up with a bunch of tourists that tick off every major stereotype - crass Americans, boozy Australians, stuck-up Brits, senior citizens, divorcees, wise guys, sulky teenagers, creepy bus driver. Her frustrations at managing the expectations of these oddball characters reach boiling point on this particular trip and while she decides to quit, perhaps these very annoying people will teach her more about keeping it together and regaining her 'kefi'.
The movie rests on Vardalos's shoulders - her character is the only one that gets a storyline. Her performance as the uptight, passionate, exasperated Georgia wont win awards. But she is relatable as she rolls her eyes at the antics of her tour group. Richard Dreyfus gets the next largest role of substance. He tries hard to work through the jokes and succeeds in most places. What does work is the combination of performances from the supporting cast who make the most of their one-note characters and play out lively situations. The beautiful locations help as well. The scenes are filled with light and energy and it is a pleasure to just look at some of the scenery and ignore the chatter sometimes.
Recommended for an afternoon.
