Saturday, June 27, 2020

A Look Back: Daniel LaPaine in Muriel's Wedding


'Whoever marries David will have to tell the immigration authorities that they're in love with him. Now there'll be media attention so they'll have to live with David in his flat for at least four months after the marriage. I've worked out all the details of the romance, but the most important thing is to convince people that you two are really in love.'
Coach Ken Blundell


Whenever Muriel's Wedding is on television, I always flip on for a scene or two.  I have the 1994 flick on DVD somewhere, but I haven't turned on my DVD player in over a year.  I usually avoid some scenes, especially those involving Muriel's mother Betty. (Jeanie Drynan) 


Jeanie is brilliant in the role, so brilliant, her scenes make me so sad, even though I've seen them before.  I prefer Jeanie hosting parties with nude men, as she did in 1976's Don's Party, which I previously posted about HERE:


Like so many film goers, Muriel's Wedding was also my introduction to the incredible Toni Collette.  Muriel Heslop was both lovable and heartbreaking, and painfully annoying.  Toni created an beautiful blend in Muriel, hopeful, painful and incredibly flawed.  Still something sill quite rare in cinema.  Film makers still try very hard to make us like characters, rather than making them fascinating and conflicting.


Like many, one of my favorite scenes to re-watch is Muriel and Rhonda's (Rachel Griffiths) rendition of Waterloo.  I've never enjoyed an ABBA performance more, and the scenes involving Muriel's 'mean girl' friends which surround the song are equally well done and fun.



Another favorite scene from the film was the introduction of Muriel's husband to be, South African swimmer David Van Arkle.  I think we were all Muriel when the delicious David popped out of the pool in his speedo.  Unfortunately, David wasn't quite as impressed with Muriel as she was with him.


With a few television appearances under his belt, Muriel's Wedding marked the film debut of Australasian actor Daniel LaPaine.  LaPaine has worked steadily since his film debut in movies and on television.  His most recent roles include appearing on The Durrells, Uptight and Black Mirror.  Although Muriel's Wedding didn't get LaPaine's speedo off, he did briefly show his beautiful behind on an episode of Black Mirror. (see below)



Black Mirror

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