MY LIFE IN RUINS
MY LIFE IN RUINS is a cute double entendre for the disappointing career of a North American educator who unable to get a job in he chosen profession becomes a Greek tour guide. Once again exploring her Hellenic roots is Winnipeg’s lovely Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame here playing Georgia the overqualified tourist wrangler who can barely even hang onto that job. In a gorgeous jaunt through stunning landmarks that accentuate the cradle of democracy we meet a bus load of visitors from hither and yon but mostly America who come for the atmosphere but would really prefer to be at the beach. It doesn’t take long for Georgia’s schoolmarm attitude to alienate the entire passenger manifest whose defacto ringleader is Irv (Richard Dreyfuss), a retiree with a warm sense of humour. Eventually the uptight site seeing leader loosens up especially after she gets it in gear with the hunky bus driver Poupi (Alexis Georgoulis) and her charges become less obnoxious as the days and kilometres roll by. Vardalos got some high end production help from Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson (Wilson also appears in a cameo role) and although it sometimes plays like a Love Boat episode there is a certain charm to this not unamusing armchair travelogue.