Movie Review : My Life in Ruins (2009)

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.

Guilty Pleasure : Madea

Madea/Mabel Simmons is elderly, overweight and poor. She is loud, ladling out advice and opinions all day, often unsolicited. She has no qualms about reaching for the nearest switch to whack the daylights out of mouthy kids, threaten improperly attired, ill mannered teenagers into submission and deliver sharp retorts to anyone that sasses her.  She will not hesitate to drive her car INTO a drive-through to get back at an attendant that won’t attend to her. She handles a machine-gun with ease. You don’t want to mess with her unless you want a pan of hot grits in your face. Even the police tremble when they need to bring her in for questioning.

But trust Madea to find her way out of a sticky situation. She stands by her family, friends and generally anyone in need of some hearty support and outlook on life. You know that she will sell her soul to the devil before letting you down. She quotes the Bible (or at least her own cheerful version of it) yet her firm belief lies more in the ability of the human soul to fix its own problems and less in appealing to God to ‘give me a break’. Madea is a supremely paradoxical character, an unlikely crusader for faith and right against wrong, yet when she stands for the umpteenth time in court before an increasingly despairing judge, we are rooting for her, because her heart is in the right place.

Tyler Perry knows that this is one of his most enduring creations. This is why he has a permanent smile playing on his lips when in character, as his sheer enjoyment bubbles through.

In an insane world that increasingly doesn’t make much sense, a spirited woman who stands up for her beliefs come hail, come sunshine and unconditionally opens her heart and home to those in need is someone we all could use more of. So give us more of this no-nonsense, outlandish, ex-stripper-hooker-criminal granny Tyler Perry. I sure don’t watch your movies to follow pretty people as they travel down paths of self destruction and then tearfully seek to make amends.

Guilty Pleasure: Double Dhamaal

Dhamaal was an amusing, Indianised version of Rat Race. It was a good way to kill time on a flight. But I fail to recall any part of it except the ending.

Double Dhamaal on the other hand was a laugh riot. I am always surprised at Sanjay Dutt’s flair for comedy. The first time I truly appreciated his comic timing was in “All the Best”. He is just as good here. Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey are in solid form while Ritesh Deshmukh is another pleasant surprise. Ashish Choudhary is getting there.

I watched the movie twice, the second time with The Mater. She wasn’t as amused as I was though. I understand most people found the first film to be a vastly superior product.

But how can you NOT laugh at “Main sardar hoon....aur asardar bhi” ??

Stop judging me.