[Screen It]

 

"MY LIFE IN RUINS"
(2009) (Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss) (PG-13)

If you've come from our parental review of this film and wish to return to it, simply click on your browser's BACK button.
Otherwise, use the following link to read our complete Parental Review of this film.

QUICK TAKE:
Romantic Comedy: A professor of classical history is disappointed in her current life as a tour guide and being stuck with tourists who don't care about the Greek locales she takes them to.
PLOT:
Georgia (NIA VARDALOS) is an American professor of classical history who came to teach at Athens University in Greece. But due to cutbacks she has been forced to take a job as a tour guide working for Maria (BERNICE STEGERS) who gives the best tourists to Georgia's competitive coworker, Nico (ALISTAIR McGOWAN), who knows how to appease the wants and needs of his group.

That's unlike Georgia who wants her tourists to love Greek history and the locales she takes them to as much as she does. That's a losing battle, pointed out to her by her group's "class clown," Irv (RICHARD DREYFUSS), who also realizes that their bus driver, Poupi (ALEXIS GEORGOULIS), has a thing for her.

Among those traveling with them are American tourists, Kim (RACHEL DRATCH) and Big Al (HARLAND WILLIAMS) who are hoping to take advantage of her currently ovulating, while senior citizen couple Dorcas (SHEILA BERNETTE) and Barnaby (RALPH NOSSEK) are no longer focused on that, especially with Dorcas being a habitual thief.

Spanish divorcees Lena (MARIA ADANEZ) and Lala (MARIA BOTTO) are there looking for a good time, just like college student Gator (JAREB DAUPLAISE). Pancake house executive Marc (BRIAN PALERMO) is always connected back to the office, while teenager Caitlin (SOPHIE STUCKEY) isn't pleased to be traveling with her quarreling parents (CAROLINE GOODALL & IAN OGILVY).

With Nico making her look bad in comparison with his group, Georgia is frustrated with hers and her life in general. But with help from Irv and ultimately the others, she finds hope for a change for the better, especially in regard to her budding relationship with Poupi.

OUR TAKE: 3 out of 10
Name most any movie critic -- heck, even just an average moviegoer -- and I bet you can find one or more pet peeves they have about certain movie genres or filmmaking styles. For yours truly, that list includes but isn't limited to most sequels, nearly all remakes, sitcom style characters and plotting, and forced humor.

While it's hardly original, "My Life in Ruins" thankfully avoids the first couple of cinematic sins, but absolutely wallows in the latter two. Viewers who enjoy that sort of programming -- what I call pabulum for the masses -- might find some or all of the proceedings as entertaining. For the rest of us, this is a trying experience at best, and about the only thing that will be in ruins will be the thoughts about and/or expectations of good filmmaking.

Working from a script by Mike Reiss, director Donald Petrie helms the project down the usual and predictable trajectory of supposedly inviting wackiness to put the viewer at ease and get them laughing, followed by what's meant to be heartwarming and/or heartbreaking moments to give the second half some depth.

Yet, just as the stereotypically drawn tourist characters in this story hate their tour, many viewers will likely have the same reaction to being force-fed this tripe rather than experiencing a real film. While all sorts of elements contribute to that reaction, the most egregious is that forced humor. And while the eccentricities, wackiness and goofy bits all contribute to that, the first sign indicating we're immediately in trouble is the soundtrack.

On its own, I'm sure it's enjoyable enough for what it is. Here, however, it's designed for just two things. The most obvious, of course, is to signal to viewers (and especially the oblivious) that the comedy is afoot. When the material is too weak or simply doesn't work on its own, Petrie brings in the lively and stereotypically Greek music to fix things.

Just like Windex in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which is the second point of the score. Yes, the pic is set in various locales around Greece, but I can pretty much guarantee you that the powers that be want to remind viewers that lead actress Nia Vardalos also headlined that previous pic that surprised everyone by grossing north of $350 million at the worldwide box office back in 2002.

The actress undeniably has a charming and easygoing presence about her, but the material here simply does her no favors. That also holds true for Richard Dreyfuss as the older tour group cut-up who -- shhh, don't tell anyone -- uses his silliness to mask a personal disappointment in his life. Alexis Georgoulis, meanwhile, is present as the local hunky heartthrob to whom, natch, the protagonist is initially blind to his attraction.

Alistair McGowan plays her tour guide rival, the film's lone antagonist who's constantly trying to undermine or make Georgia look bad in front of her group, while the likes of Harland Williams, Rachel Dratch, Brian Palermo and Jareb Dauplaise, among others, play a wide assortment of touristy caricatures.

All of that might have been fine -- okay, it really wouldn't have, but let's just go along with the argument -- had the story and dialogue been better. Unfortunately, this is fairly lame material that rarely transcends its sitcom style trappings. Yeah, I understand it's all structured as entertainment constructed to appeal to the lowest common denominator masses.

Yet, its design is so ancient and crack-filled that I'd rather stand under an ancient Greek ruin considering the seemingly imminent collapse of the former. I'm sure "My Life in Ruins" will have its share of fans, but I'm not one of them as I couldn't wait to get off this cinematic bus during its tour of bad filmmaking. The film rates as a 3 out of 10.




Reviewed May 20, 2009 / Posted June 5, 2009


Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2023 Screen It, Inc.