My Big Fat Greek Wedding ***1/2
Directed By: Joel Zwick Written By: Nia Vardalos Music By: Alexander Janko and Chris Wilson
Toula Portokalos: Nia Vardalos Ian Miller: John Corbett Gus Portokalos: Michael Constantine Maria Portokalos: Lainie Kazan Aunt Voula: Andrea Martin Nick Portokalos: Louis Mandylor Nikki: Gia Carides Angelo: Joey Fatone Harriet Miller: Fiona Reid Rodney Miller: Bruce Gray
Running Time: 1:36 Rated PG (for sensuality and language.)
By: Michael J. Gold
Greek-American Rita Wilson went out and saw the one woman play My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She loved the production so much that she then convinced her husband, Tom Hanks, to produce it with her as a film. The result is a highly entertaining family film that celebrates life, love and pride in your heritage.
At 30 years old, the unmarried Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) is relegated to working in her family's restaurant. Toula is Greek and as the narrator of her story, informs us that Greek women exist to marry a Greek man, have Greek children and feed everyone until they die. Toula's prospects are not looking good until she meets a handsome teacher, Ian Miller (John Corbett).
Ian and Toula begin to date, however, she believes their relationship to be doomed since Ian isn't Greek. Ian convinces her that he just wants to spend time with her and the two continue to date. Toula's family eventually finds out that she is dating a man who not only isn't Greek, but also has not shown the proper respect by asking the father's permission to date his daughter.
Ian and Toula continue to date anyway, while her parents, Gus and Maria (Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan), continually have "nice" Greek men over for dinner. Toula looks to her brother Nick (Louis Mandylor) who tells her to follow her heart. Eventually Ian and Toula fall in love and decide to get married. Now, the happy couple must convince her family to accept Ian as their future son-in-law.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is filled with colorful characters who, despite their somewhat absurd behavior, craft themselves into real people as opposed to characters utilized for a simple gag. These quirks and the little details that each provide are what endear us to these particular people.
By contrast to Toula's loud and eccentric family, Ian's parents are portrayed as "normal" and seem to have few if any idiosyncrasies. They are quiet and subdued; when Ian and Toula dine with them there are are only the four of them and uncomfortable silences fill the air.
Toula's family is filled with a zest for life and a prevailing pride in their Greek heritage often to the embarrassment of Toula. The Greek customs are as strange and new to Ian as they are to the audience. While the story is being told from Toula's point of view, the audience is really seeing it all from Ian's. We are just as much of an outsider to this family as he is and as he is taken in by their charm and traditions so are we.
This is a rare romantic-comedy that defies the conventional Hollywood formulas and instead is content to be grounded in reality to tell a very simple story. It is a story that goes beyond love and marriage, but is really more concerned with family and acceptance.
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