My Life in Ruins (2009)

I like Nia Vardalos esp. in My Big Fat Greek Wedding though a bit less so in her brief TV series based on that movie, My Big Fat Greek Life. My Life in Ruins is more formulaic but Nia continues to deliver the funny as a put-upon tourist guide in Greece. A former Greek history professor, she is in a dead-end job where her boss and the other tour guide have painted a big target on her back. She exhibits her stress through cynical observations about her tourist cohort and her scruffy-looking bus driver (whose Greek name shortens to the nickname Poupi Kakas). This story setup in the first 20 minutes is the funniest part of the movie. The tour group's situation evolves, of course, as she and Poupi warm up to each other and the tourists (led by the affable yet sensitive Richard Dreyfuss and the buffoonishly Palinesque Rachel Draytch) learn to pitch in and support each other. They stop being victims and begin pulling off coordinated pranks on the other tour guide. My Life in Ruins is an enjoyable outing, a pleasant excursion, a sojourn through frustration and laughter with a feel-good destination that satisfies. Enjoy! 3.5 stars. (11-24-2010, posted 3-16-2016)