A special talent lies in gifting nicely, and twice is clever indeed. Nia Vardalos does just that with My Life in Ruins, which is a lovely film, shot on location in Greece. No small thing, doing location shots of people milling about being tourists at the most famous Greek archaeological sites. Vardalos not only helped arrange this feat of diplomacy, she was the darling of Greece by the end of the shooting. If you like armchair travel, this movie delivers sensational vistas of the countryside, the coastlines, the towns, and the ruins. 

Vardalos wrote My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the little movie that could, which enjoyed one of the longest theatrical runs of modern movie distribution. Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks is her husband) produced the movie, which demonstrated a sharp eye for a good script. It is a classic. Her script was original and engaging. In contrast, writer Mike Reiss, who wrote My Life In Ruins with Vardalos in mind, doesn’t make the grade, and I’m surprised Vardalos had to let the script run as is. She should have been allowed to fix it. There are two notable lines, one by the driver: The rocky coastline seems like frozen music to him. Not bad. And by Vardalos’ tour guide: listening to the wind in the Acropolis columns allows one to hear nature commenting on our creative civilization. Nice. 

So Vardalos spent her career dealing with typecasting, which is evident in this one, however much lighter her hair and thinner her body. Ce la vie…or huppa, in Greece. She doesn’t seem to mind now though. She wrote …Wedding because she was having a hard time finding roles. Now she has another film I Hate Valentine’s Day out later this year, and writing two others, one in which she has a part. Hopefully, they have the same sparkle of …Wedding. 

Throughout that same decade, Vardalos was trying to have a baby as well, which didn’t go well, causing a heavy sadness. Even the early attempts at adoption were difficult, when she decided to go for an ‘older’ child. Into her life came her brand new three year old daughter. She and her husband were thrilled.  

She was offered My Life In Ruins and divested herself nicely as the temporarily out-of-a-teaching-job academic, Georgia, who takes a gig as a tour guide, while she watches the mail for letters of acceptance at universities back home. Vardalos wasn’t comfortable, but does a good enough bit to allow the film some life. 

Vardalos seems rigidly stuffed into the role, which has stiff, jaded lines arcing to sweet, happy lines. For Georgia, the tour guide who puts in a lackluster performance, as with most jobs that one disrepects, her work was not successful. She didn’t like the tourists on her bus, they didn’t like her. She was embarrassed to be doing the job. Her jokes fall flat. They didn’t want to hear her comments at the ruins. I did, and wished that those lines weren’t trounced by the attempts at comedic lines given the rest of the cast. 

She thinks she’s over Greece, and the people, their predisposition to dancing and their cavalier approach to schedules and organization. Only if you are of Greek heritage could you get away with such broad and essentially demeaning remarks. No matter, it works, the whole movie works, even the obvious insertion of a love interest in the form of a big, hairy, dour bus driver. And who cares, with this newcomer from Greece, 34 year old Alexis Georgoulis, who plays Procopi, which is shortened to Poupi, of course. He is the silent driver, with a charismatic gentlemanliness perfect for a film of this ilk. In a recent television interview, Vardalos mentions they call him Alex Gorgeous. Yup, that he is. He will probably get scooped up here for other roles, though he may prefer his stardom in Greece. Vardalos, incidentally, is 46 and doesn’t look it. He does a great job of being genuine, making up for Vardalos’ stiffness. 

A surprise in the lineup of tourists getting on Georgia’s tour bus is a single, wisecracking American—Richard Dreyfuss, remarkably recovered from his stint as Cheney. In fact he is so engaging as Irv, a man on vacation without his wife, that you may need tissues. Dreyfuss is such a versatile actor, and his Irv brings depth to the ensemble cast. If only there had been better lines for him. 

Alistair McGowan was Nico, the quintessential kiss-up tour guide, out tour-guiding Georgia with his bus load of tourists loving him and his ideas to go shopping instead of staying at the ruins. Nonsensical. No matter, he does the role with vigor. Caroline Goodall, a veteran British actor, pulls off the stuffy Dr. Tullen (read sullen), as does a Roger Moore lookalike, Ian Ogilvy, of British television and movies, who plays her put upon husband. 

Two latina actresses, Maria Botto and Maria Adanez, are charming as the requisite tour bus divorcees. Stealing the show was young Jareb Dauplaise, struggling on his own at age 19 in Hollywood, though should do well, because of his raw energy. Very funny. 

Just catch this movie on the big screen to enjoy the cinematography, lovingly rendered by Jose Luis Alcaine, who captures Greece and Vardalos, et al, with equal skill. You may be familiar with his work under Pedro Almodovar in such films as Volver with Penelope Cruz, or Malkovitch’s The Dancer Upstairs showcasing Javier Bardem, 

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson again backed Vardalos for My Life In Ruins. And it is great to see Vardalos land on her feet with this role—she definitely has regained her kefi. Now let’s hope for some matching characters for her regained vigor.