My Life in Ruins (2009) Reviews

• A Waste of Talent

  Movies5052010-02-18

  It's easy to put your finger on what went wrong with My Life in Ruins. Director Vincent Sherman said, "More writers doesn't necessarily mean a better script. Usually it means just the opposite. It's not easy to put people together and make a successful collaboration." You can almost feel the push and pull between the talented Nia Vardalos and writer Mike Reiss with this story of an American history professor – turned – travel guide to an annoying group of tourists. Vardalos, being Greek, no doubt added the very spot-on "Greekness" of the characters and enriched the story; while Reiss ruined the fun with his sophomoric writing and unfunny stereotypical characters. Hey, Mike, didn't they teach you at Harvard that stereotypes are a no-no? This ain't TV, Bubba, it's cinema! If Reiss had been taken out of the equation, and Vardolas given the opportunity to run with the screenplay herself, My Life in Ruins would probably have been more enjoyable from start to finish. Checking track records, most television writers fail horribly crossing over to screen writing. Yet, they're given the job! When are producers going to wise up? My Life in Ruins is like a picky eater trying a Greek salad for the first time. He picks out what he doesn't like, and enjoys the rest. So, dig into the talented team of Vardolos, Georgoulis, Stegers, and Dreyfuss, the beautiful Greek scenery, and the Greek way of life. The rest of the salad – flat dialogue and stereotypical characters – leave for the kitchen help to dispose of.

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• My Big Fat Greek Vacation

  Ron in LA2009-06-06

  Early voters are being a little to hard on this feel-good romantic comedy/Greek travel infomercial. Nia Vardolos is a Greek-American expatriate in Greece, overqualified and unhappy with her temporary job as a tour guide. Nia rolls her pretty eyes at the prospect of entertaining a tacky crew of caricatured tourists, which include Richard Dreyfuss as a jokester and Rachel Dratch as an absurd American. Alexis Georgoulis is their hairy driver. The jokes are pretty hit and miss, with mostly hits after the bus gets rolling a bit. This is a warm, accessible, and engaging film, that will satisfy fans of MBFGW who do not burden the film with too much in the way of expectation.

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• Definitely worth seeing...

  AMoonBean2009-04-16

  I saw this film at a screening and it was fun and made me laugh and remember why we go to the movies-to be entertained. It's a timeless sweet and romantic story, with a lot of humorous moments throughout. The cast is centered by the talented Nia Vardalos, who effortlessly brings a very different, yet still enjoyable, character to life than in previous films. As Georgia, Vardalos once again displays her uncanny ability to portray a relatable character, and reinforces why we love her. The supporting cast was also great, and their characters were so real and typical and funny that I felt like this was written about a tour bus I was once on. I'm sure many people have either encountered people like them before or are related to someone like them. Alexis G, the bus driver was like a modern Greek God, and I couldn't believe his talent as an actor actually matched his good looks. Anyone who sees this film will find something to laugh at, because the humor in this film can be appreciated no matter where you're from. And following them along their journey through the astoundingly beautiful Greece and it's historic sights, is icing on the cake. Not only would it be worth the price of the movie ticket to see this movie, but it might just make you want to buy a ticket to Greece. I know it made me want to.

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• Not her best work

  Heiress2009-06-07

  Sorry, Nia. I'm a fan....but this movie falls pretty flat. The comedy writing is contrived and predictable. There were some laugh out loud moments. But they were too few and far between. Most of the characters are cardboard cut-outs. They are unbelievable and obnoxious. And the story? Well, we've seen it a million times before. Richard Dreyfuss is the HIGHLIGHT of this film. It is in scenes with Nia and Dreyfuss that the movie shines. The scene at the beach was so brief but so powerful...Dreyfuss makes the most of those brief moments. The scenery,however,is fantastic! To see the ruins of Greece on the big screen...what a treat. Overall, I felt this movie was trying way too hard to be funny....much like the tour guide in the movie. Wait for it to come out on video.

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• A Guilty Pleasure

  therunner422009-08-05

  My Life in Ruins is corny, clichéd, predictable and a totally fun way to spend an afternoon. Every now then a movie will come along and change your life. This is not one of those movies. It is not highly original or well acted but it is a funny and feel good film. My Life in Ruins is about tour guide Georige (Nia Vardalos) who is bored with her job, disappointed with life and generally just too uptight. Thanks to a tour passenger Irv (Richard Deyfuss) who takes on a guardian angel role and a sexy "ugly swan" bus driver (Alexis Georgoulis), Georgie begins to look at life on a whole new level. Some of this movie is a little one dimensional. The Australian tourist whose singular role in the movie is to prove no one can understand us and that we like drinking way too much were a little corny. However, none of this stops the movie from being funny, fun and really entertaining. Vardolos continues to be a delight on screen and her co-star Alexis Georgoulis is really really hot. My advice is see this film, take along some high fat snacks and don't feel guilty about either. After all, as the film preaches life is too short to do anything else.

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