My Life in Ruins (Driving Aphrodite) (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Alexis N

  
  Romance is all over the ruins of Greece in the little romcom. I loved the whole thing. I cried, laughed and had a smile on my face. It made me want to visit Greece and take a bus tour. If you like Under The Tuscan Sun and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this movie is so for you. It's… More
  Romance is all over the ruins of Greece in the little romcom. I loved the whole thing. I cried, laughed and had a smile on my face. It made me want to visit Greece and take a bus tour. If you like Under The Tuscan Sun and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this movie is so for you. It's so cute and charming.

• Cassie H

  
  A very cute movie. Nia is adorable as Alexis is as well. I really enjoyed this :)

• Dean M

  
  There were great laugh out loud moments. Richard Dreyfuss is the highlight of this film. It is in scenes with Nia Vardalos and Dreyfuss that the movie shines. The scene at the beach was so brief but so powerful... Dreyfuss makes the most of those brief moments. The scenery is… More
  There were great laugh out loud moments. Richard Dreyfuss is the highlight of this film. It is in scenes with Nia Vardalos and Dreyfuss that the movie shines. The scene at the beach was so brief but so powerful... Dreyfuss makes the most of those brief moments. The scenery is fantastic! Vardalos, as Georgia, a travel guide, displays her uncanny ability to portray a relatable character, and reinforces why I like her. The supporting cast was also great, and their characters were so real and typical and funny that I felt like this was written about a tour bus I was once on.

• Chris G

  
  Do I really need to go over the plot of this film? Do I? It's like every other film of its ilk that's shot out of Hollywood in the last thirty years. OK, let's do this review as a quiz and you can score yourself: 1) Georgia (Nia Vardolos) is a Greek history professor… More
  Do I really need to go over the plot of this film? Do I? It's like every other film of its ilk that's shot out of Hollywood in the last thirty years. OK, let's do this review as a quiz and you can score yourself: 1) Georgia (Nia Vardolos) is a Greek history professor who can not find work or a man. In the course of this film she will... A. Make Gyros B. Find a man and get a job offer, but turn the job offer down for her man. C. Introduce communism as a viable political philosophy for the Greeks. 2) Richard Dreyfuss plays a man who is a smart ass, talks about going on trips with his wife, but his wife isn't there. Where is she? A. In a better movie. B. She left him for Val Kilmer. C. She's dead. 3) The hairy bus driver that never talks will be... A) Judge Lance Ito B) A bus driver. C) The "man". Add in some stereotypical tourists and you're all set. You've got the movie. Enjoy. Thanks for playing.

• Wahida K

  
  And I wish that was me. lol

• Nate Z

  
  Tacky on nearly all fronts, this Big Fat Greek Wedding wannabe sequel features that hit movie?s star, Nia Vardalos, and plops her in Greece as an unhappy, uptight, undersexed tour guide. The movie follows her exploits to regain her ?kefi,? Greek for ?mojo.? My Life in Ruins paints in… More
  Tacky on nearly all fronts, this Big Fat Greek Wedding wannabe sequel features that hit movie?s star, Nia Vardalos, and plops her in Greece as an unhappy, uptight, undersexed tour guide. The movie follows her exploits to regain her ?kefi,? Greek for ?mojo.? My Life in Ruins paints in obnoxious broad strokes with its bus of fools, making sure the Australian tourists are never without a can of Foster?s in their hand. The stereotypes are plentiful. The lame jokes are easily telegraphed and usually lowbrow (the bus driver?s name is ?Poupi Kakas?), the acting is hammy, and the stabs of drama thanks to Richard Dreyfuss as a traveling widower feel alien. Being a romantic comedy replete with stock characters, naturally everything is predictable. Vardalos does a credible job here trying to hold this mess together, though she?s too prone to going for funny faces as a saving grace. Twice characters tell her that she?s not funny, and to this the audience will easily agree. I am dumbfounded that longtime Simpsons writer Mike Reiss wrote this crap. The only real enjoyment you?ll receive from this movie is marveling at all the fabulous Greek sights, from the ancient ruins to the seaside villas. I understand why the cast and crew would sign up to film this movie in Greece, but does that mean I have to subsidize their vacation with my own money? No thank you. Nate's Grade: C

• jay n

  
  Average but endearing comedy, the scenery is breathtaking.

• moon r

  
  didn't see "greek wedding" and i don't have a teevee so this actress, Nia Vardalos was a surprise...quirky and somehow different. dreyfuss is the fount of wit and wisdom here and everyone else is similarly and stereotypically cast and played in a stereotypical… More
  didn't see "greek wedding" and i don't have a teevee so this actress, Nia Vardalos was a surprise...quirky and somehow different. dreyfuss is the fount of wit and wisdom here and everyone else is similarly and stereotypically cast and played in a stereotypical romantic comedy wherein greece is the background. i have a flixsterfriend to whom i promised i'd watch at least one greek film and somehow now feel as if i've heroically made good on my promise, filling my yearly quota of foreign films, so yay, now i'm a film snob!

• Fascade F

  
  A couple of good laughs in this light comedy. I saw Nia Vardalos in "My Big Greek Wedding" and this was good, also. Not disappointed at all...alot of fun....being a tourist on this trip. It's simply a good movie.

• Panta O

  
  I didn't expect anything from this movie and I was pleasantly surprised? it was easy to watch? it was funny? it had romance and a story? it wasn?t in the same category like the previous My Big Fat Wedding but that does not make it a bad movie! Recommending it for a family fun!

• Sol C

  
  The film was better than Connie and Carla, but not as good as My Big Fat Greek Wedding. They had a good idea but didn't execute it correctly. The film needed a major rewrite and a better director. I am surprised that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson who did produce the film, (Wilson… More
  The film was better than Connie and Carla, but not as good as My Big Fat Greek Wedding. They had a good idea but didn't execute it correctly. The film needed a major rewrite and a better director. I am surprised that Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson who did produce the film, (Wilson even makes a cameo as Dreyfuss's wife) didn't get more involved creatively to make sure that the script was tight and that Vardalos had a better director to work with. She is good in the film, working with what she has. She doesn't have chemistry with her leading man. Dreyfuss has a few good lines but is wasted in the role. Vardalos's tour guide rival is hilarious in the film and steals every scene he is in. A film about that character would have been a funnier film. The film did remind me a little of Out to Sea and City Slickers. On a major plus, the cinematography is really good. I hope Vardalos's next film, I Hate Valentine's Day, which re-teams her with John Corbitt, is much better than this.

• Naughtia N

  
  The only reason I wanted to watch this movie was because of lovely Nia Vardalos. I was crazy about 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', so I was hoping that this romantic comedy would be of the same caliber but sadly it wasn't. The story was very sweet and catchy but most of the… More
  The only reason I wanted to watch this movie was because of lovely Nia Vardalos. I was crazy about 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', so I was hoping that this romantic comedy would be of the same caliber but sadly it wasn't. The story was very sweet and catchy but most of the scenes seemed very cheesy. I couldn't help wondering why many of the tourists were portrayed as complete nincompoops. I know there are a lot of idiot tourists out there but this was a bit too much. Anyway, the story is about this Greek/American tour guide who leads a bunch of tourists on a Greek sightseeing. The tourists are bored with the sightseeing & history and will rather buy t-shirts and eat ice cream. This movie had the potential to be a whole lot better.

• Deb S

  
  Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is an unemployed classical history professor who has to become a tour guide around Greece for a crappy tour company to make ends meet. She hates her job and is sick of Greece, too. But on her next four-day trip everything will change for the better, she… More
  Georgia (Nia Vardalos) is an unemployed classical history professor who has to become a tour guide around Greece for a crappy tour company to make ends meet. She hates her job and is sick of Greece, too. But on her next four-day trip everything will change for the better, she discovers her romantic side and makes many friends, thanks to the quirky members of her tour and her quiet bus driver. Richard Dreyfuss returns as Irv, a widower who every tour bus seems to have, that?s always making jokes but isn't as funny as he thinks he is giving Georgia some advice about how to build her "mojo". The beautiful Greek surroundings will definitely be a good reason for the viewer to watch the film. An entertaining romantic comedy!

• Yinalí R

  
  It's entertaining and funny. It's a good concept, mixing out your typical tourists in store for a good time. And a story of a bored flat-out monotonous, tiresome woman who has life planned out, and is anxious to leave Greece. Nonetheless; only for watching at home.

• Angela A

  
  This was poke-my-eyes-out awful. Oh, and to Australians, the Australian accents in this movie are the most funny part of the whole thing. When will Hollywood learn to hire Aussie actors instead of trying, huh?

• Bill C

  
  Nia's character come in at an odd angle as a unemployed history professor giving tours in Greece and it hard to be very empathetic with her character. Richard Dryfuses' wife had recently passed away and he rallies the movie from a 2 back to a 3 in the 3rd act. There are some… More
  Nia's character come in at an odd angle as a unemployed history professor giving tours in Greece and it hard to be very empathetic with her character. Richard Dryfuses' wife had recently passed away and he rallies the movie from a 2 back to a 3 in the 3rd act. There are some charming points, but the beginning is what drives people away.

• Simeon D

  
  Groan. My mom made me watch this because she thought it was a sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The one piece of advice I have is "Don't go into denial and think it's cute, accept the horribleness and semi-offensive script". 22/100

• Chad R

  
  Average Romantical comedy with some funny portions, usually when Richard Dreyfuss was involved. Nia Vardalos does a good a job here as in Fat Greet Wedding. Richard Dreyfuss is also a scene stealer in the portions he is in. Overall not bad for a chick flick.

• Janice :

  
  I liked it for what it's worth: entertainment.

• Leo L

  
  Hilarious movie that centralizes around an ambitious tour guide, her quirky tour group, and a vastly calm tour bus driver. Their destination is to view, and explore, various locations of Greece but that doesn't stop the tour group in wanting absolute excitement. As the… More
  Hilarious movie that centralizes around an ambitious tour guide, her quirky tour group, and a vastly calm tour bus driver. Their destination is to view, and explore, various locations of Greece but that doesn't stop the tour group in wanting absolute excitement. As the enthusiastic group spends more time together, they bond on various levels and end up having lots of fun on their journey. Tons of laughter! Great cast- Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Harland Williams, Rachel Dratch, and Caroline Goodall. Definitely worthy!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings