My Life in Ruins (released as Driving Aphrodite in the United Kingdom) is a 2009 romantic-comedy film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Rachel Dratch, Harland Williams and Alistair McGowan. Set among the ruins of ancient Greece, the film follows a tour guide whose life takes a personal detour, while her group gets entangled in comic situations among the ruins, with a series of unexpected stops along the way. The film was released on May 7, 2009, in Greece and on June 5, 2009, in the United States.
Plot
Georgia is a Greek-American teacher who has traveled to Greece to teach Classic Greece at a local college. Laid off due to budget cuts, she is forced to obtain a job as a tour guide. She feels she has hit rock bottom, losing her passion in everything, and is told by her boss, Maria, that she has received negative feedback from the tourists who say she is boring. Georgia finds herself leading a tour of misfits around Greece, believing she is a failure as they seem to care more about souvenirs than learning about history and culture. She envies her co-worker's group of Canadians, who seem to be more interested in history and culture than wanting to go shopping and hang out at the beach. Maria disagrees with Georgia, saying they are more intrigued by Nico, as he is more engaging. Georgia's driver is replaced at the last minute by driver Poupi.
Everything seems to go wrong, and is made worse when she complains to Maria for favoring Nico over her, letting his group have better conditions than hers. After feeling ignored again, Georgia sends her a letter saying she is quitting at the end of her tour. The next day, an elderly seasoned traveler, Irv Gideon, helps Georgia see why she is not connecting with the group: she finds them annoying, is sick of her current job and is miserable in her life. He shows her how to have fun, be more engaging to the group and let go of her problems. Georgia learns more about them, and opens her eyes to the different places where they are from. In doing so, she also teaches them the origins of the Olympic Games, in a way that makes them genuinely interested. Georgia takes them to one of the ruins where Irv acts as an Oracle to help others with various problems.
While they become more immersed in Greek culture, Poupi shows more interest in Georgia. However, her antics distract him while driving, and he narrowly avoids a major accident on the road. That night, Georgia and her group are given better accommodations in better hotel by Maria. Unfortunately, this is a place Nico and his group are staying at. Attractive female members from Georgia's group distract a hurt Nico as Georgia, Irv and Poupi secretly sabotage his tour bus, stealing the air conditioning and installing it in theirs. The next day, as they enjoy the day at the beach, Irv becomes sick and they take him to the hospital. Georgia is unsure if she should continue, concerned for Irv's health, until Poupi encourages her to do so.
During a tour of the Parthenon, Georgia shows them why she loves coming here: at the right time, you can feel the wind from the ruins. Many hear the wind and are impressed by its peace. One of the group members named Gator asks Georgia if they can visit the hospital to see Irv. The group thinks it's a great idea and she agrees. While his group looks around, the annoyed Nico confronts Georgia. She realizes she had the better group and that he never got to know his own group. Nico reveals that without air conditioning on his tour bus, he got a serious headache from the constant complaints his group was making and wanted a beach day. When he openly insults his group by calling them Americans, the Canadians are offended and start beating him up. Georgia's group visits the hospital, where Irv is recovering well.
At the farewell party, Maria confronts Georgia about the letter and convinces her to stay, with a promise of a raise after reading the great reviews from her group. She even admits that she is glad Nico quit as she never liked him and only tolerated him because she knew his parents well. Georgia ends up with Poupi, who gets promoted to full-time.
Cast
Production
Development
The script is originally by Mike Reiss, based on his travel experiences, but it was later re-written by Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) after she became involved. The film was co-produced by Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks, and is directed by Donald Petrie. Vardalos has stated that the film was a lifelong dream of hers for she had always wanted to do a film in her family's ancestral homeland.