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'My Life in Ruins' a fun ride

Published online on Friday, Jun. 05, 2009

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'My Life in Ruins" is full of positive kefi. If your Greek is a little rusty, kefi means mojo.

Most of that comes from star Nia Vardalos. She brings the same self- deprecating humor, vulnerability and spunk that made her a sensation in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Vardalos plays Georgia, a history professor who's between teaching jobs. She's paying the bills as a tour guide in Greece. Because tourists find her tours too dry, she falls out of favor with the boss. That means she gets the worst bus (no air-conditioning), driver (a scary mess) and tour group (strangers in a strange land).

It's actually the best group when it comes to characters: recently divorced women on the rebound (María Botto, María Adánez); obnoxious Americans (Rachel Dratch, Harland Williams); goofy teen (Jareb Dauplaise); workaholic (Brian Palermo); and one very wise man (Richard Dreyfuss). It's the quirkiest band of tourists since "If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium" was released 40 years ago.

Director Donald Petrie manages to give each player his or her moment without diminishing what makes the movie work best: Vardalos. She seamlessly evolves from frustrated intellectual to lovesick loner to free spirit. A trip that could have been jolted by emotional starts and stops turns out to be a smooth ride.

It helps that Dreyfuss turns in one of his best performances in years. Recent efforts by Dreyfuss, such as "Poseidon," had him playing such cranky characters, it was hard to connect with the roles. In "My Life in Ruins," he's cantankerous but gets plenty of time to be caring and understanding.

Petrie has produced a film the Greek government should use to attract tourists. He allows us to look over the characters' shoulders to see the beauty and history of Greece.

This is a movie about falling in love. It's easy to do that with the characters and the country. Nothing's rushed. That's a blessing in a summer of big explosions and huge special effects. You don't need those things when Vardalos turns in a performance with so much energy against such a magnificent backdrop.