What makes MURIEL'S WEDDING an engrossing and wholly entertaining film?

Essay by cafedeglamourCollege, UndergraduateB, February 2004

download word file, 4 pages 5.0

Downloaded 35 times

Hogan's MURIEL'S WEDDING is about how a loveable loser, Muriel, eventually breaks free from what she is labeled and discovers her self worth and identity. The movie is entertaining because of the hilarious elements it has, such as the corrupt father and police, the pathetic Heaslop family members, and the chaotic love live of the "friends" of Muriel. These things contribute to make it an engrossing and wholly entertaining film. We shall look at these elements in detail in this essay.

An important element in the movie is the use of strong irony. In the first scene, Muriel is dressed in peculiar clothing, a tight dress with leopard print on it and obviously too small for her, and a heavily painted face. This immediately gives us the impression that she is not a popular or wanted person, and yet she is lucky enough to get the bride's bouquet, and is the main character of the movie.

A hilarious moment was when Bill was waving goodbye to the policemen who were supposed to charge Muriel of theft. A short while ago they were say how they should be drinking during duty hour and that they should follow the rules; the next they were willing to let Muriel go off the hook with a dozen cans of beer. Another example of irony is that Porpoise Spit is a holiday resort, yet the tourists are not having fun. No one is seen working and the tourists are just walking around and are rarely seen. Also, it is a hot place, yet underneath the heat there is no warmth among the relationships of the residents living there. People are indifferent and rude in contrast to the warmth of the weather.

The fact that we, as audience know the truth and look at how Muriel...