Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is an architecture professor who finds herself in Greece, the land of her ancestors, as a tour guide while in between teaching jobs. Her boss favors the other tour guide with better tourists, better hotels, and the better bus. But when Georgia’s bus gets a new driver (Alexis Gregoulis), her latest tour becomes one to remember as adventures lead her to regain her “keffi”-- Greek for “zest for life.”

CRITIQUE

In 2002, the success of the independently released My Big Fat Greek Wedding made it the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. The star and co-writer of that film, Nia Vardalos, acted in other films but then retreated from the public eye recently. She also hasn’t returned to the land of her heritage on screen since-- until she appeared again earlier this year with this film. My Life in Ruins is greatly flawed in story but does offer warmth and a bit of humor, especially through the performances and direction.

Very little of the comedy in this film, particularly toward the beginning works as well as its intended to, and that is the central problem with the script. The film begins with a voice-over from Georgia that could be quite better written, and then the audience gets example after example of how put-upon she is at this job she doesn’t like. The other guide at the tour company, an smarmy schmoozer named Nico (played with utmost oiliness by Alistair McGowan), gets the better tourists, the better bus, the better hotels. It’s all too much to really swallow. Then there’s the fact that the tourists Georgia has in her group are broad caricatures for the most part-- the stupid Americans, the stuffy Brits, etc. Richard Dreyfuss’ Irv is the only character among the tourists that the audience feels any kind of connection with until well into the film.

Thankfully, these supporting roles, though, are inhabited by some excellent comedic actors, most of whom handle improvisation with ease, so Vardalos and Dreyfuss don’t have to do everything themselves. You will definitely remember the IHOP guy, played spot-on by Brian Palermo, and Gator, played by Jareb Dauplaise with what has to be his natural ebullience. The find of this film, however, has to be Alexis Georgoulis. He has all the makings of an international star-- not only the face and body but the charisma, too. His accent is just a bonus!

This is Vardalos’ film, though, and she is the kind of performer it’s hard not to like. The appeal of the entire cast is a large part of the success the film does have. Aside from casting, director Petrie also takes full advantage of the ancient sites they were allowed to film in, and the music and some of the costuming is good. My Life in Ruins has a script never as funny as it could be, but the direction and acting do provide much to enjoy, especially for fans of romance.

THE VIDEO

The transfer here is a good one, preserving the picture and color of the theatrical release so the audience can fully appreciate all that Greek scenery. Unfortunately the studio only provided a screener copy that does not represent the final retail product.

THE AUDIO

The format here is the expected Dolby Digital 5.1 surround for the English track, and it works as well as it always does. There is also a French language track in Dolby surround. The subtitles offered are English and Spanish.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentaries: There are three (3!) tracks here: one from director Donald Petrie, one from star Nia Vardalos, and one from writer Mike Reiss. One wonders why they didn’t join for one track together instead of three solo tracks but they are all worth listening to. Vardalos is personable and funny on her track, talking a lot about working with the other actors and how blessed the production was to have access to all the actual ancient ruins. I love to hear about Georgoulis’ audition and how filming of their kissing scene went. Petrie reveals much more about the actual shooting locations, including all of the sets and exteriors that were done in Spain. He also talks about Dreyfuss coming down with pneumonia and how professional he was in not letting it effect shooting for more than a week. Writer Reiss is the most humorous, which must serve him well writing for The Simpsons, a fact he brings up quite a bit. He talks a lot about the trips he’s taken that inspired the script and how it came to be sold to Vardalos. He keeps his track short, though, not completing the film.

Deleted/Alternate Scenes: Eight scenes are included in this extra, including an alternate ending. They don’t really add much, though the scene with Gator’s girlfriend is funny and would have been a nice addition to the final film. The alternate ending actually has Irv die, with rough special effects that show him dancing with his late wife. I prefer the ending in the film, but this is also a good inclusion here. Director Donald Petrie gives optional commentary on these scenes and discusses mostly why they were cut.
 

Everybody Loves Poupi: This extra is simply a funny video created in the post-production that takes footage and re-edits it so that it looks like everyone in the film is trying to attract Gregoulis’ character. Some moments in this are quite funny but no one will probably watch this more than once.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Though the script itself is far from perfect, the bits of humor and romance that are effective in My Life in Ruins adds to the solid direction and enjoyable performances. A romance in a far-flung, gorgeous destination has an entertainment factor that is hard to diminish. Fans of My Big Fat Greek Wedding will particularly enjoy it, and very few will be curmudgeonly enough to think the film a waste of time. My Life in Ruins will make many viewers hope that Vardalos doesn’t make us wait another 7 years for her next romantic comedy.