I actually went into watching "My Life In Ruins" with a bit of a personal bias: I loved Nia Vardalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and even thought "Connie and Carla" was far from a disaster of a film. I assumed that with Vardalos on board, a former Simpson's writer responsible for the script, and Richard Dreyfuss as a crotchety pain in the ass, "My Life In Ruins" should by all accounts be average at worst. In the words of a more modern Lex Luthor, "WRONG!"

Right off the bat, Nia Vardalos manages to sap the charisma from the screen and her character Georgia, miserable with her life in Greece (more on that later) sets the tone for how the viewer will feel in a few short minutes until the movie mercifully ends 90 minutes later. I wonder if Vardalos made her performance extra miserable because she didn't see the failed television pilot worthy script until after she signed on. If there is any factor I can weigh in defense of Vardalos' grumpy performance it is that this is the first time she's not working with her own material. The result is flat delivery of one clichéd line after the other; even at the expected character turning point prevalent in all romantic comedies, the delivery remains flat, but now nauseatingly syrupy rather than bitter.

The entire script shoots itself in the foot well before the bevy of tired stereotypes that make up the supporting cast give Georgia (and we the viewer) another reason to cringe. Georgia is your typical romantic comedy female lead, unable to find joy in life until she finds the man of her dreams. She hates her job as a tour guide, because all the tourists assigned to her want to have fun, buy tacky trinkets and enjoy themselves, rather than hear day after day of Georgia's lectures on Ancient Greece. We are supposed to hate these people to since our "heroine" is really a Greek history professor who can't find a job. I've never been on a tour, and although I would imagine teaching tourists about the history of their vacation spot is a component of the tour, no one in their right mind would begrudge people on vacation for having fun, even if it is a bit tacky.

While Georgia's group throughout the film isn't unlikable because they want to have fun, they make up for it in spades with being a bevy of foreign caricatures. You get two middle aged Spanish divorcees dressed slightly sleazy, a clueless business man, an overweight, American simpleton, two brain-dead, loud Americans (one of whom is Rachel Dratch, essentially expanding her drunken Boston character from SNL to unbearable length), a thieving old lady and husband, a family of stuck up, annoyed Brits, and finally two Aussies. The latter two left the biggest impression on my brain, despite only having a combined total of 5 minutes of screen time; they have a few unintelligible lines because the writer thinks Australian accents are funny. Additionally, Australians are constantly drunk, with a can of Foster's always in hand.

Not a single one of these characters does anything to entertain the viewer. They merely exist to remind us that Georgia is a tour guide and to occasionally be the butt of many jokes that even an "According to Jim" fan will struggle to find humor in. The only likable character comes in the form of Irv (Richard Dreyfuss), a cranky old man, determined to crack a joke about everything. His scenes with Georgia are the only time the writer comes close to making the viewer care about anything on screen, but even then, it's only because the circumstances regarding his seat on the tour tug at the heartstrings. Dreyfuss gives a much stronger performance than the film honestly deserves and did make me crack a smile, despite his jokes being nearly as awful as the rest of the cast.

Finally, I'm obliged to mention the other vital element in this romantic comedy, the male love interest. He comes in the form of Poupi Kaka (Alexis Georgoulis), pronounced Poopie Kaka, because infantile fecal humor is funny. He like the rest of the cast exists, only to be pulled into the limelight for your laundry list of key romantic comedy scenes and to introduce his nephew, Doudi (i.e. Doodie Kaka). To the actor's credit, he attempts to act, but there's not much to do with the trite dialogue that is the backbone of the script. Women will surely love him if for nothing more than his good looks.

"My Life In Ruins" ended up coming nowhere near close to an average romantic comedy, instead it is at the bottom of the barrel, somewhere under the director's previous crack at the genre "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days." Once I realized that the first 15 minutes was an accurate slice of what the next 75 were going to look like, I went from disappointment to boredom, only stopping occasionally to care when Irv is on screen, but that was more empathy, not the emotion a romantic comedy should elicit. A final note worth making regarding the filming locations; with the exception of a few obvious scenes at famous Greek landmarks, the film was shot in Spain, so for anyone wanting to snag it just for the scenery (which to be honest, like many things in this movie just exists to exist), keep this in mind.

The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is free from any glaring technical defects, but on the same page, is from impressive. Colors are accurately reproduced, vital to the outdoor scenery that serves as the backdrop to much of the movie. However, the detail level is another story; there are moments in the film where detail is strong, but for the most part, every thing looks a little softer than it should. There were also a few, brightly lit scenes that gave the picture a mild, "washed out" look to it. If I had to sum it up, I'd say it visually ends up looking like something made for television.

The Audio

The 5.1 Dolby Digital English audio track ensure every flat joke comes through clearly, never overpowering any supporting score or ambience. It's very front heavy, with the surrounds only supporting any musical segues It's good for the type of film presented, but even then, I've heard similar comedies with a bit more "oomph" to their soundtracks. A French Dolby Surround track, as well as Spanish subtitles and English subtitles for the hearing impaired are included.

The Extras

After finishing up this film, I was not looking forward to the commentary, despite Nia Vardalos being advertised as the feature attraction on it. To say I was shocked to find THREE commentaries on this disc is an understatement. The feature track with Vardalos is very thin and could have easily been edited in with the second track featuring director Donald Petrie. Vardalos doesn't come across as funny as I imagined and she really stretches trying to make funny quips. Petrie takes things so serious when discussing the technical aspects of the film, you couldn't believe the film turned out as terrible as it did. Lastly, writer Mike Reiss gets a chance to defend his terrible script. At the very least, he is engaging and gives a chance to prove he does have comedy skills, although I still find it hard believing the supporting cast was based off his real life experiences, but then again, I've never taken a tour so I can only speculate.

Rounding out the rest of the extras are a handful of deleted scenes with optional director commentary, an alternate ending that really highlights how all over the place this script was (hint: death is actually a better alternative), and a short attempt at laughs entitled "Everybody Loves Poupi" where scenes from the final film are edited in a fashion to insinuate Poupi was in love with everyone. If you've seen "Brokeback to the Future" on YouTube, you've seen this done 1000x better.

Final Thoughts

"My Life in Ruins" is one of the laziest films I've seen in recent memory. It gives viewers a tired tale, from a stale genre, with miswritten protagonist. Its idea of humor is the most watered down broad fare you can muster up, saving the "really big laughs" for cheap gay jokes and funny names. It's a waste of one major talent, and an actress that initially won the hearts of viewers with her natural charisma and charm. Vardalos has another romantic comedy in the pipeline, "I Hate Valentines Day" and I'm crossing my fingers, her return to the role of screenwriter and debut as director will conjure up some of the magic that made "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" the fun hit that put her on the map. If instead, "My Life in Ruins" is the road she intends on traveling, count me out on any future trips. Skip It.