In 1995, a small, quirky film burst out of the fictional suburban town of Porpoise Spit and made its way into the global spotlight. Muriel's Wedding, directed by P.J. Hogan and starring a then-unknown Toni Collette, turns 30 this month. It's a film with enduring popularity (In 2017, a musical was released). As a cornerstone of Australian post-new wave (including Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Strictly Ballroom), Muriel's Wedding both lampoons and mourns the social constructs of small-town life and marriage. Audiences were also introduced to the delightful Toni Collette, who has since gone on to star in films such as The Sixth Sense, About A Boy, and Hereditary.

To its credit, Muriel's Wedding avoids the trap of the outback. Australian cinema has been defined by films such as Mad Max, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Walkabout, all taking place in that harsh land. Muriel's Wedding stays close to home. Porpoise Spit is a small town where everybody knows one another and where Muriel's father is a bloviating local politician. Her family is, in a word, dysfunctional. The town is a stifling place where women are defined by marriage and not much else is going on. And oh, how Muriel wants to be married. She yearns for it, thinking that if she is married, her life will be perfect and everyone will accept her. She believes this to be true, even as her mother is stuck in a loveless marriage and her father carries on an affair.

After taking advantage of a blank check that her mother has written, she goes on vacation to meet up with her ‘friends'. A term used loosely as they don't seem to like her very much. The ‘friends', mirroring her father's views, reject her due to her non-conformance to the roles laid out in Porpoise Spit. It's cleverly done, and relatable for those trapped in for small towns across the world. Muriel's fortune changes when she runs into ex-classmate Rhonda and a genuine friendship blossoms. Upon her return to Porpoise Spit, she's confronted by her mother about the missing money. In response, Muriel takes off to live in Sydney with Rhonda and changes her name to Mariel.

Here we see the first inkling of the change in Muriel. She's holding down a job at a video store and contributing to the rent for an apartment. But her small-town dreams persist as her focus remains on getting married. After Rhonda is stuck down with a tumour, Muriel parlays that sympathy to try on wedding dresses around the city. The wedding album, filled with pictures of herself in gowns and found by Rhonda showcases how hollow the dream is. It's all about the end result, devoid of love and affection.

And this is precisely what Muriel gets. A wedding to an attractive male swimming star. They both benefit, he for citizenship and a crack at the Olympics. She for social approval. The wedding is all for appearances. Their wedding night is spent in separate bedrooms. It's cold and unloving. A few months later, Muriel's mother dies and Rhonda has moved back to Porpoise Spit due to not being able to manage living on her own in a wheelchair. These terrible events cause Muriel to reject her sham marriage and reunite with Rhonda. Their riding off back to Sydney isn't an ending for them, but rather a beginning.

It's a fascinating philosophical pivot. Instead of following the staid institutions which demands approval; female friendship and authenticity are valued. Muriel has shed her shame of being thought of as a ‘failure' by those who surround her. She knows she's not. She's Muriel and that is the best person she can be.

The movie would lack if Toni Collette wasn't so excellent in it. She brings Muriel to life. When she escapes from her highly dysfunctional family, you're cheering her on. Her transformation into the character is complete, down to the 40lb weight gain she put on for the role. Her performance has incredible emotional depth, but she is also a queen at comedic timing. The expressions she has on her face, for instance, when she meets her future husband, will have you belly laughing.

Thirty years later, Muriel's Wedding remains both a product of its time and ahead of it. It has a fun combination of gaudy aesthetics and emotional depth, which still feels modern. The movie paved the way for Australian comedies like The Castle and Kath & Kim, both of which also mixed satire with sincerity. Plus it helped redefine stories from Australia. Muriel's Wedding was adapted into a successful stage musical in 2017, complete with ABBA songs and expanded character arcs. Toni Collette seems to have moved away from comedy films at the moment, but hopefully she will return to the fold soon.

And perhaps this is Muriel's Wedding's greatest trick. Beneath its outrageous moments—Muriel's beaming smile in her wedding dress, or the nightmare that is the backwater Porpoise Spit—lies a film that is ultimately hopeful. It's about the painful process of self-acceptance, about shedding shame and seizing agency.

As audiences return to Muriel's Wedding three decades on, they may find its humor just as sharp, its critique just as relevant, and its heart still gloriously intact.