This page is here for reference/archival purposes only.
The Muriel's Wedding Page no longer exists.

Mailing me about

No singular paragraph on my web site has gotten me more flack than this paragraph about Muriel's Wedding. It amazes me how people write to tell me that I'm great at designing pages, am koool for detailing my life in my online diary, but think that I'm too ignorant to know that the seasons in the southern hemisphere are reversed from those in the United States.

I know that fact; most Americans know that fact. It's for that reason that the scene was so funny. While we (myself and the rest of the theatre's audience) knew in the back of our heads that the seasons in Australia are reversed, it wasn't something that we were thinking about as Muriel said, "September." The "Spring" comment took us off guard and made us laugh. I was not alone in my laughing at the theatre. So if you're going to write me about Muriel's Wedding write me to tell me that I have a messed up sense of humor, but not to tell me that the seasons are reversed.

And I've held back adding this page because I thought it would take a "shut up" tone, but just some of the countless e-mail on this subject have included:

One thing I didn't get tho was your reference to the Spring wedding in Muriel's Wedding. I don't think that was meant to be funny...in the southern hemisphere, September is the beginning of spring (and they call it spring as well. The same things are happening there as are here in March). A June wedding in many parts of Oz or New Zealand wouldn't be too appetizing!

I was wondering however about your Muriel's Wedding review. What is unintentionaly funny about that scene? (actors delievey excluded). For us in Australia and the millions of others in the Southern hemishere September is the first month of Spring.

Oh one other thing. Spring in Australia is in September. We are in the Southern Hemisphere so we are now in the middle of autumn, you call it fall.

First of all, I wanted to share a little geographical tidbit with you- in your review of _Muriel's Wedding_, you mention the "inadvertant humour" of the statement that September is springtime. The movie takes place in Australia (from whence my father comes), and INDEED- all of the seasons are the REVERSE of those in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, despite the fact that you may have found that geographical fact amusing, it was surely not supposed to be anything but a factual comment.

And here's a letter that does seem to side with me:
Subject: Muriel's Wedding
Justin,

Australians have dry senses of humour. Maybe it has something to do with all our deserts. A good friend (who is a film maker) knows the people who made Muriel's Wedding and I'm afraid to say the humour was intentional.

Justin's Koool Page