Ex-college professor Georgia Habchi (Nia Vardalos,) tour guide, lives a miserable, unfulfilling life in the midst of the ruins of Greece, getting by with a job that she thinks isn't worth her time. She's not very good at what she does, she can't get another job, and the other people at her workplace are trying to get her to quit. She's stuck with the world's most miserable tour bus and the wild man bus driver that no one wants, Poupi (Alexis Georgoulis), but who is much less uptight than his current tour guide!

Georgia's current tour group is more interested in touristy gimmicks and souvenirs than learning about the actual sites of Greece, much to her dismay, but her rigidity continues to prevent her from connecting with the group. Funnyman Irv Gordon (Richard Dreyfuss) tries to make things lighter, and Dreyfuss' comic moments are augmented by the work of Harland Williams and SNL's Rachel Dratch who play husband and wife, Big Al and Kim. Besides the rest of her oddball tourists, which include an IHOP franchise boss and a kleptomaniac, the tension continues to rise thanks to the way that another tour guide, Nico (Alistair McGowan), continues to undermine her every move.

If you've seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you know what Vardalos is capable of when it comes to romantic comedy. Understanding that she captured lightning in a bottle once, it doesn't quite strike again in the same spot, even as she reteams with Georgoulis. The backdrops are beautiful and the cast is particularly amusing at times, but the kinds of hijinks that follow her tour are the same that have plagued National Lampoon vacation movies for years. It's formulaic that Georgia would need some help from the older traveler struggling with his own problems, but the fact that she finds love with the shaggy-headed driver who is exactly the opposite (she thinks) of what she wants and is right under her nose&ellips; Well, that we might've seen once or twice before.

Georgia has lost her kefi (think "mojo" or joy) and it permeates everything she does and every relationship that she's in. The movie shows us that we encounter certain moments in life, certain hardships, and great tragedy, and how we respond to them will make us crazy or may us stronger. Both Irv and Georgia have the opportunity to be better for their tragedy, or completely crushed under the weight of it. What happens when the "world" tries to steal your joy? Will you let it or will you rise above that?

My Life In Ruins asks some of the same questions that we are called to ask ourselves as we progress through life. The gospel of the kingdom of God is no easy task, bringing truth to the world, sharing with those who have less, and denying oneself. Standing for these things will cause trouble, and lead to our own persecution at times, but how we respond when it doesn't exactly go the way that we hope it will determines the kind of example we show our world. The movie shows that when you have been dealt a potpourri of bitter fruit, with the right attitude, even limeade can taste sweet.