What’s the worst slur you can call an international tourist?
According to the new film “My Life in Ruins,” it’s “American.”
The movie, starring “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” actress Nia Vardalos, follows a Greek tour guide struggling to entertain a group of demanding tourists.
The most boorish of the lot are Americans, natch, played by Harland Williams and Rachel Dratch.
Hardly a shock there.
At one point, some Canadian tourists are called “Americans” by accident. And boy are they upset by the mistake, a notion played for comic effect.
It’s a tiny moment in the film, but it’s a nice example of how Hollywood helps brand Americans via their film exports.
(Photo: “My Life in Ruins” stars Nia Vardalos (center), Rachel Dratch (L) and Harland Williams (R) Photo Credit: Teresa Isasi)
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With 60 percent of Hollywood’s grosses coming from foreign sales, all you need is the US youth demographic to make money. When I get appointed King, I’d tax foreign film sales based on the fact that such bad publicity ultimately costs taxpayers more money for defense and endangers American lives overseas.
It would be a shame if we Americans offended the good sensibilities of our European allies by entertaining them with films that are actually watchable and by fighting their wars for them.
Well, I haven’t seen the film myself yet, but as a Canadian who has toured Europe with an American and come across boorish American tourists, I’d say it’s certainly possible that this scene could have the ring of truth about it. Nia Vardalos is Canadian herself, of course, so presumably she knows whereof she speaks.
Peter,
I have no problem with a film showing some American tourists as boobs … the film does that early on via the two U.S.-based tourists, and I’m sure plenty of Americans act in such a sterotypical fashion overseas. But they compound things later on with the sequence I referenced above. Seemed like overkill to me … and it also plays into more than just poor tourism habits by US travelers.
I travel overseas quite a bit for work and I can tell you I try to be as low key as I can. The people I work with know me and are always very friendly and accommodating. I try to be as accommodating as they are up to and including going to the airport and picking up a colleague that was stranded here and bringing him to my home when all the hotels were full.
I have also encountered many people during my travels that are rude and judgmental because I am a U.S. Citizen. And, I have met just many rude and obnoxious foreign visitors here in Chicago. There is nothing quite like sitting on the “L” for 45 minutes listening to someone blather on about how much better the “tube” is.
The cliche “ugly American” is just that… A CLICHE. Hollywood does not help our image by perpetuating this stereotype.
In Bruges is another movie that likes to indulge in bashing American tourists. Too bad, it’s mostly a good movie.
I damned near got run over in London trying to get on a bus — seems Americans get “in line” and wait their turn to board buses. Not so in London where even little old ladies with brollies shove you out of the way so they can get a seat.
So far as Nia Vardolas — I haven’t seen this new flick, but if Greeks are anything like the Greeks in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, they’re an embarrassing lot.
I spent 20 years in the Army with tours in Thailand and Vietnam, with side trips to Malaysia and Taiwan. I also spent 6 1/2 years in Germany. I saw many of the “Ugly American” types but I also saw “Beautiful Americans” giving of themselves, their money, their time, and occasionally, their lives in foreign countries. I ALWAYS tried to behave like a guest in someone’s house and made many friends and may have changed some minds.
Funny, but my ski adventures to the Alps left me (and teh Brits) waaaaay behind. The middle-aged Austrian broads wouldski over teh tips of your skis and elbow their way to front of the lift line, where their Itailian, French and all those “old Euros” were waiting for them. The Yanks and Brits never stand a chance.
I have not seen this move yet, I did see it about 35 years ago thou, A TV movie Called If its Tuesday it must be Belgium. Its easy to dump on Americans and America, we just don’t pay any mind to it and come running when needed. Gee All you have to do is look at the French, the first thing they did when the lost an airplane was to ask, for SAR Help from the US Military. I never had a problem with the French, or France for that matter, its a great place to go, just don’t go to Paris, go to the country side, just like the states . Look a couple of years ago they made a movie about a Rat that wanted to be a French Chef. That was a good one, once you over looked the fact that the chef was a rodent. Its not good in real life to have rodents in the kitchen. So lets all take a deep breath, its a movie nothing more, if its a good one it will do well at the box office, if not then well rent the DVD in a month or so.
Franz Wisner, the author of Honeymoon with my Brother (about his spending several years traveling the world), put it best. He said there is usually one “ugly American” in every tour group, but he also discovered that “Americans definitely don’t corner the market on ugly.”
This movie is terribly written. It isn’t going anywhere. Funny how people hate Americans and yet we are made up of all those other countries that supposedly are better. Makes you wonder why they have so many relatives living in this country if it is so terrible.