My Life in Ruins

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.