Tank Girl, Muriel's Wedding Entertainment
by: Ryan Posley



Hollywood has come under close scrutiny recently because of the noticeable lack of quality roles for women in films in the last few years. This is unfortunate considering the fact that women are now a majority in this country. However hard they try, though, Hollywood cannot stop those few small films with juicy roles for women that sneak through the cracks. Two films of this type are doing good business right now, and I was lucky enough to catch them both this week.

Australia has been a hotbed of great movies lately, with such recent films as The Piano, Sirens, Priscilla - Queen of the Desert and Heavenly Creatures (New Zealand, close enough). Their newest entry into American theaters is MurielÕs Wedding, a hilarious and heartwarming story of a young womanÕs drive for marriage and struggle for acceptance.

AMuriel's Wedding received a 15-minute standing ovation at last year's Cannes Film Festival, arguably the most important international festival in the world, and it is not hard to see why. Toni Collette is phenomenal as Muriel, an unattractive, emotionally repressed young woman whose life revolves around Abba and getting married. She lives in Porpoise Spit with her severely dysfunctional family when she decides to leave and pursue her dream. Marriage represents the ultimate success and happiness, but through the course of the film we see Muriel profoundly mature from a naive introvert into a strong woman, shaking off her need for marriage as a form of acceptance.

The story is colorfully brought to the screen by first-time writer-director P.J. Hogan. His screenplay jumps indiscreetly from hysterical antics to wrenching tragedy and back again, manipulating every emotion its audience can conjure up. Collette exhibits so much energy and youthful enthusiasm that when she smiles one can overlook her obvious physical flaws and is forced to smile right along with her.

The supporting cast is equally wonderful. Bill Hunter and Rachel Griffiths - as Muriel's self-absorbed father and supportive best friend, respectively - give almost moving performances and hit all the right notes. The rest of the ensemble cast is meant mainly for laughs, and they donÕt disappoint.

Despite its abrupt, somewhat bathetic, ending, Muriel's Wedding is engrossing and wholly entertaining. It also boasts one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen on film, involving Muriel, her horny date, her best friend and two naked American sailors. Use your imagination.

Not nearly as funny or touching, but much more fun to watch, is Tank Girl, a strikingly original, psychedelic cyberpunk romp through post-Apocolyptic America. In searching for adjectives to describe this film by, only one word came to my mind again and again: cool. It is a carnival of sights and sounds and a circus of strange characters.

It took great effort to find somebody to see this with me because of preconceived notions that it was for kids (even though it is clearly rated-R) or that it looked "so stupid you couldn't pay me to see it," as one friend remarked. Although it's hardly the most intelligent film ever made, it is far from "stupid." Sure, there are jokes about bodily functions and sex - all the usual idiotic fare - but they come off in such a weird way from such unusual characters, one can't help but laugh. Its plot may also be formulaic, but come on! With these characters in this setting, nothing is formulaic.

Based on the cult British comic of the same name and directed by Rachel Talalay (Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare), Tank Girl is an exciting, witty and very sexy look at 2033, after a comet has struck Earth depleting it of most of its water. One power-hungry man, played with conventional wickedness by Malcolm McDowell (gracefully aged since A Clockwork Orange), has control of almost all the water. A docile, yet vicious, band of half-humans, half-kangaroos called "the rippers" wants their fair share and will stop at nothing to get it. Rebecca, the Tank Girl, is a renegade free spirit who just likes to have fun.

Despite the original actress walking out just days before the film was scheduled to shoot (apparently she wouldn't shave her head), Lori Petty is perfectly cast as the wholly independent and hilariously spirited Tank Girl. She gives a completely unselfconscious performance, seeming to enjoy every minute of it. Whether riding the cannon of her tank as a giant phallus or blasting away the bad guys with Rambonian prowess, she's a joy to watch.

Although the "rippers" provide the most comedy, they are far too cute for this sort of film. Designed by effects genius Stan Winston, they have been softened considerably from the original comic book concept. I'm waiting for the McDonald's Happy Meal ripper figurines.

Stylishly shot and edited, Tank Girl blends live action and cartoons in a lively, MTV fashion. With retro-meets-post-modern costumes and sets, it looks like a manic Buck Rogers episode. Overall, it is an insignificant film, but good, campy fun to watch.