‘No-one would get it’: Muriel’s Wedding director and star reflect on the Aussie movie’s legacy 30 years since it came out

The director of Muriel’s Wedding admits he thought ‘no-one would get’ the movie when it was released, while actor Rachel Griffiths reveals how Hollywood reacted.

In 1994, Muriel’s Wedding showcased the power of female friendship to an ABBA soundtrack, and while it surely won’t be the last to do so (a third Mamma Mia! film is reportedly in the works), it’s not just the music that made the Aussie film such an enduring classic.

Written and directed by PJ Hogan, the film follows unappreciated wallflower Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) in her fictional hometown of Porpoise Spit as she gains confidence in love and life through her mutual affinity with the rebellious Rhonda Epinstall (Rachel Griffiths).

An instant hit when it landed in cinemas across Australia on this day 30 years ago, the bittersweet comedy (which is streaming now on Stan and Prime Video) not only launched Collette and Griffiths’ careers, it also spawned a successful stage musical.

Much of the movie’s dialogue – such as the line “You’re terrible, Muriel” – has since become part of the Aussie vernacular.

‘We have all felt like Muriel sometimes.’ Rachel Griffiths and Toni Collette in a scene from Muriel’s Wedding. Picture: Robert McFarlane

‘The optimism of ABBA was infectious!’ Rachel and Toni in an ABBA-inspired scene from Muriel’s Wedding, which is marking its 30th anniversary.

As well as being “very, very quotable,” Griffiths tells The Binge Guide, the film resonated because “a female friendship movie was still rare at the time”.

She adds, “The optimism of ABBA was infectious. And for LGBTQ folk, the story really lands as a ‘leave your small judgemental town and find your best self and a new family in the big smoke’ tale that rings true for so many in that community.

“The common denominator is we all have felt like Muriel sometimes. Sharon Stone apparently told Toni she was Muriel as did, I believe, Elton John.”

‘Sharon Stone apparently told Toni she was Muriel!’ Picture: Wayne Taylor

Hogan agrees, telling The Binge Guide, “Over the last 30 years, so many people from so many different parts of the world – men, women, gay, straight, black, white, brown – have said to me, with absolute sincerity, ‘I am Muriel.’ And I believe them.”

Yet, as he worked on the film, Hogan worried that “only my friends, my family and I would get this crazy story”.

“Certainly no-one outside of Australia would get it. It’s just so … Australian, down to its marrow.”

Working to a tight schedule and on a tiny budget, Hogan says he often felt too stressed to enjoy the filming process but has fond memories of shooting the famous scene where Muriel walks down the aisle to ABBA’s ‘I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do’.

“We shot about three days in the church so I had a bit more time to appreciate what I was getting,” he recalls. “Toni radiated such joy as she came down that aisle, ABBA blaring over every speaker, and her joy was infectious. I remember Toni saying, ‘I could walk down this aisle forever.’”

Read the full story in the latest issue of The Binge Guide, on the flip side of Stellar. For more from Stellar, click here.

Originally published as ‘No-one would get it’: Muriel’s Wedding director and star reflect on the Aussie movie’s legacy 30 years since it came out