MovieChat Forums > Muriel's Wedding (1995) Discussion > Muriel was extremely selfish

Muriel was extremely selfish

posted 10 years ago by silver-starlet
11 replies | jump to latest

I thought this movie would have been sort of like My Big Fat Greek Wedding (girl breaks out her shell, girl makes something out of herself, girl falls in love with a man who loves her for her, etc) I guess I wasn't expecting the right kinda movie. I felt that Muriel was entirely too selfish. She didn't seem to care that her family was in debt, her family had to be searched by police constantly, nor did she seem upset that her dad left her poor mother for another woman.

[–] tmaj48 10 years ago

If it had been a standard Hollywood movie, that's probably exactly what would have happened. That's what makes it superior to those movies....it recognizes that
Muriel and the rest of her family are so deeply damaged by her father's abuse
that it's not going to be resolved with a few apologies and heart-to-heart talks.
What Muriel did was outrageous and selfish, but that's what it took to shake the
family out of its slow collective death. What happened to her mother was tragic,
but the poor woman was already virtually in a semi-comatose state from her husband's mistreatment of her, and whatever happened, she seemed doomed. The other
children were also beaten down spiritually by their father as well. There may have
been no simplistic happy ending, but the tiny little moment at the end,
where the father agrees to watch a soccer match on TV with his kids and even remembers to thank them for getting him a beer, is actually a major step forward
in treating his family decently for him. Ultimately, Muriel's criminal actions
saved the rest of the family.

I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

Hewwo.

[–] silver-starlet 10 years ago

I like that perspective. It makes me respect the movie a lot more. Thank you :D

[–] riverwalk 10 years ago

exactly the movie is not a hollywoodie girl gets guy fantasy it's a film based on real people- yea muriel could be selfish, vain and manipulative and had flaws but who doesn't? She did look out for herself at the expense of others but again who doesn't? That's what made the movie stand out- it's not hollywood cliche meg ryan rom com- it's a real girl and real people in a real life situation warts and all. As the other poster said she shouldn't have stole the money from the dad but in fairness muriel stealing the money and getting away from the house and finally standing up for herself ultimately helped the family progress in the end. They all were finally showing signs of moving out of their downward spiral- the dad finally began to realise the errors of his ways and show compassion to his children, muriel told her dad what he had to do in their last scene and he seemed to be taking the advice on board as he thanked the child and was respectful towards his child. Things were going to improve for them all- yet many people fail to see the happy ending.

[–] kylopod 10 years ago

I'm continually fascinated by the fact that every time there's a movie with a flawed protagonist, you see messages like this on the imdb forums, criticizing the character's behavior as if it were a flaw in the movie itself. It seems that a lot of people are confused about how to determine a movie's point of view from the behavior of its characters. It's especially striking in the case of this movie because by the end of the film, Muriel has genuinely grown, is in the process of paying back the money she stole, and has done about the most unselfish thing you could imagine by giving up her dream of marriage to take care of her disabled friend.

If some viewers erroneously assume the movie approves of Muriel's earlier behavior, I think it has to do with the way the film toys with the rom-com conventions. Because Muriel is introduced as the odd girl whom everyone mistreats, our first assumption is that she must be the outcast-with-a-heart-of-gold, like in thousands of other chick flicks. So when the movie soon reveals her as a pathological liar and a thief, it surprises us. For most of us, that's what makes the movie special, and so much better than the usual Hollywood fare. But apparently some viewers assume the movie must be morally tone-deaf for making its "hero" so dysfunctional. They don't get that it's deliberately challenging and rethinking the formula, rather than simply doing it badly.

[–] susanemccool 10 years ago

Very well put. I now have nothing to say!

[–] oxblood 9 years ago

Hollywood has convinced everybody that the only movie worth the public's attention has to have a Disney plot and a fairy tale ending. 95% of Hollywood romantic comedies are like that. This movie succeeded because it was the opposite. Not because people yearn for a depressing storyline but because it was unpredictable and held people's attention.

[–] riverwalk 8 years ago

''Muriel has genuinely grown, is in the process of paying back the money she stole, and has done about the most unselfish thing you could imagine by giving up her dream of marriage to take care of her disabled friend.''

While you make alot of good points I think you are mistaken here, Muriel did not give up her dream of marriage, it was more that she realised that the marriage was a complete sham and that all her lies had to stop. Yes she had grown but the growing was in that her realisation that her lies were damaging her and others and she finally had to be honest both with herself and others, she saw that her dream of marriage was a ridiculous fantasy and that it was not the answer to her problems, it was never a healthy dream-it was a childish fantasy and she was ready to leave it.

That's not to say she'd never marry in the future but she saw at last that her views on marriage as the ideal paradise were delusional.

[–] Princess_Ashmi 10 years ago

Yeah she was somewhat selfish but then I don't think she ever really cared about her family as much as other people care about theirs.
And she was upset about her dad leaving her mum, remember the restaurant scene where she keeps asking 'what about mum' she was obviously angry at the situation. But what could she do, its not like her dad ever listened to anyone anyway. And lets be honest, with a man like that her mother was much better off being single!

Ashmi any question

[–] dazzaler44 8 years ago

She was a bloody thief as and her family were horrible as well. (Sorry fans of this film)
The town of Porpoise Spit reminds me of a sea side town i used to live in the southern coastal NSW (the people there were just as stuck-up and snobby like the characters of MURIELS WEDDING lol)

[–] dave4248185 8 years ago

I hear that. Muriel had three people in her life who loved her and accepted her for who she was, warts and all. Her mom, Rhonda and Brice. She screwed over all three of them. And I'm supposed to like her so much........WHY? So her dad was abusive and that makes it OK? Maybe HIS parents were abusive. I still don't see any love for him.

[–] Kellymariekitty (158) 5 years ago

She snapped, she wasn’t selfish. Her father was a disgusting pig who called his kids worthless and useless. His kids were all fat and useless yes but Muriel wasn’t and there’s no way you should talk to your kids like that. U are meant to encourage them, not talk to them like shit. Ok she stol the money buther dad deserved that. He treated his family like shit and his wife like crap. I felt so sorry for his wife, I’m not surprised she died. Her husband was a bastard and her life was really bad.