My Life in Ruins (2009)

A travel guide rediscovers her romantic side on a trip around Greece.

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writer:

Mike Reiss

Stars:

Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Rachel Dratch

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nia Vardalos	...	Georgia
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Irv
Alexis Georgoulis	...	Poupi
Alistair McGowan	...	Nico
Harland Williams	...	Big Al
Rachel Dratch	...	Kim
Caroline Goodall	...	Dr. Tullen
Ian Ogilvy	...	Mr. Tullen
Sophie Stuckey	...	Caitlin
María Botto	...	Lala
María Adánez	...	Lena
Brian Palermo	...	Marc
Jareb Dauplaise	...	Gator
Simon Gleeson	...	Ken
Natalie O'Donnell	...	Sue

Storyline

Georgia is an American academic who's lost her teaching job in Athens. She's taken a job as a tour guide, but she hates it and it shows: the tourists, mostly American, are bored with history and facts; they want to shop. Every group has a goofy couple, a frat boy, a sullen teen, a feuding couple, divorcées looking for a mate, and a funny guy. This group is no exception, plus there's no air conditioning and a bearded silent driver. Thanks to an unlikely friendship, plus daisies, an ice-cream cone, the history of syrup, and the Oracle at Delphi, Georgia may have a shot at finding her kefi during this four-day tour.

---

Plot Keywords:

tourist | tour guide | greece | tour bus | greek | 

---

Taglines:

Falling in Love...In All the Wrong Places

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English Greek

Release Date:

5 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mi vida en ruinas

Filming Locations:

Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,223,161, 7 June 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$8,662,318, 30 August 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

26 Films, Kanzaman

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Irv's dead wife Elinor is played by Rita Wilson, who is also one of the executive producers, along with her husband Tom Hanks.

---

Goofs

After the mystical visit to Delphi and the oracle, the evening scene is down at a port with a white Greek church high on the mountain like on the Greek Island of Tinos. There is no way to come down from the ancient ruins of Delphi and sit at the sea port of Tinos.

---

Quotes

Mr. Tullen: [trying to get her out of the tent] Elizabeth, dear, do please come out of there.
Dr. Tullen: I won't! I don't want to get sunburned.
Caitlin: [walking closer] If you don't come out, I'm going to tell everyone how old you are.
[an orange parasol emerges from the tent, followed by Dr. Tullen, looking stunning in a one-piece black swimsuit]
Mr. Tullen: [taken aback] Well... *that* was certainly worth the wait.

---

Connections

References Never on Sunday (1960)

---

Soundtracks

Noodles
(2008)
Performed by Guy Moon
Written by Guy Moon
Published by Moon People Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Guy Moon

User Reviews

Shallow and not very funny, but pretty cute (I guess)

One of the problems about having a successful first film, is that people have high expectations of your next one. Such is the case with Nia Vardolos. even though it has been many years since i've seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, to this day, I still make a Windex joke whenever I can. My Life in Ruins has a long way to go, but in fairness, Vardolos did not script this one. She definitely should have. Overall, the movie is satisfied with being simply cute. It doesn't really bother to push the envelope and go for frisky or funny, which would have been nice.

Georgia is fed up with her job as a tour guide on a bus trip across mainland Greece. The tourists are never interested in her or the ancient ruins they visit (which she finds fascinating). On this latest tour. (which she plans to make her last) One of the people on board is a charming fellow American, a crone, who teaches her how to be a better guide, and a more fun person. As she gets better and better at her job with each stop, she learns more about the folks on board, including the strong-silent type driver, who to her surprise has long been in love with her.

The first problem with My Life in Ruins is obvious, it takes too long to get going. The first act in dedicated entirely to showing us how miserable Georgia is. After about fifteen minutes, we start to get the message. Vardolos, on another matter, is not even half as much fun as she was in Big Fat Greek Wedding. Even when she takes her clothes off in act three, her performance is quite stiff. Part of the problem, also has to do with a lack of character, another problem which may have been fixed if the script was hers.

My Life in Ruins, is certainly not in Ruins, but it doesn't go any further than being cute.