Review of My Life in Ruins (2009) by Ginger B — 29 Mar 2010

Memo to Nia Vardalos: Please give audiences something different. In "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" audiences were presented with a movie that mixed a rom-com with a cultural study of American/greek cultural interaction. It was actually a somewhat interesting story. Now, with "My Life in Ruins", audiences see much the same--only with more than just Americans--with one tiny addition. The addition in question is Georgia's journey of self discovery thanks to her mentor/guide Richard Dreyfuss. One could almost argue it to be just another coming of age story, if not for the fact that Vardalos' character is already an adult.

Thank goodness for the supporting cast in this movie. If not for their interaction with George, this movie would be far more bland than it already is. One of the funniest of the supporting cast was Harland Williams. His portrayal of American tourist, Big Al, was a hilarious stereotyped tourist who could have cared less about learning, and more about fun. There is also a wonderful little old lady on George's bus who is a kleptomaniac. Her constant theft is a great addition to the tour group. She, and the rest of the tour group manage to save the movie with their comic timing, and wonderfully funny interactions with one another. If not for that chemistry, this movie would have fallen so much harder than it did.

While the interaction of the supporting cast saved this movie from total disaster, one can't help but point out the fault of the movie's general lack of creativity. Vardalos herself wrote "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." This time around, though, she only starred in the movie. However, one can't help but wonder if she had to have had some hand in influencing writer Mike Reiss, being that the two films are so similar; especially considering how similar the two films are. To that extent, unless Vardalos gives audiences something new, something even resembling originality, then she (much like her movies) will find their way into the endless void of look and sound-alike movies and actors that pollute theaters and video store shelves to this day.