My Big Fat Greek Wedding Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)August 16th, 2002
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Louis Mandylor, Joey Fatone, Fiona Reed and Bruce Gray. Written by Nia Vardalos. Directed by Joel Zwick. Rated PG. Running time: Approx. 94 minutes.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a boisterous comedy, a warm celebration of cultural heritage, love and family.
Written by and starring Nia Vardalos, Greek Wedding is about the blossoming of Toula Portokalos, a young woman who works in her father's restaurant, as well as her acceptance of who she is and where she comes from.
Vardalos' script reveals that Greek women have only three functions in life, according to Greek culture: To marry a Greek man, have Greek babies and cook Greek food.
Unfortunately, Toula, 30 and unmarried, is the black sheep of the family. Not that she isn't looking for love, but the two have not yet bumped into each other. Her father, Gus (Michael Constantine) continually complains about her single status while simultaneously crying about how her loss would devastate him. Talk about mixed signals.
Toula's life begins to change when Ian Miller (John Corbett), a teacher at a neighborhood school, wanders into the restaurant. Just looking at him inspires Toula to make over her life.
With the help of her mother, Maria (Lainie Kazan) and her aunt (Andrea Martin), she convinces her father to let her take computer courses at a local community college as well as go to work at her aunt's travel agency.
At the agency, she again sees Ian, and a mutual attraction develops. They date and fall in love. Toula is afraid, though, to introduce Ian to her family, until she is "busted" by a cousin who spreads the word through the Portokalos family.
The backbone of My Big Fat Greek Wedding is Corbett's performance as Ian. He is bemused and amazed by the interactions of Toula's large family. Being an only child, he accepts the clan's warmth and emotional zestfulness as they slowly make him a part of their lives.
When Toula and Ian get engaged and announce their intention to marry, he does everything he can to keep his love and her parents happy. He is baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church so the couple can be wed there to please the Portokaloses, and he begins to take an interest in all things Greek, from the language to the food.
(The family is aghast when informed Ian is a vegetarian. "That's OK," Toula's aunt assures her niece. "I'll make lamb.")
Toula, meanwhile, has vainly tried to keep a distance between her family and Ian, fearing their overbearing ways and Old World traditions will drive him away. She, more than anyone, is stupified by Ian's ready acceptance. His explanation is simple—he will do whatever is necessary to hold onto Toula. He understands and appreciates her family ties, reminding her it is part of who she is.
Greek Wedding envelopes you in a bear hug of sentimentality, but without too much schmaltz.
This isn't a groundbreaking movie. At times it plays like a good TV sitcom or movie of the week, but its situations are so recognizable and universal that you don't need to be Greek to appreciate it.
It is a movie at which you laugh and nod your head during certain situations as it triggers your own family memories.
The movie's major drawback is Constantine's portrayal of Gus. He borders on stereotype, almost cartoonish, but redeems himself admirably in the touching last reel.
Writer-star Vardalos' transformation from frumpy duckling to dazzling swan appears too pat; shot in montage style, it almost looks borrowed from another movie.
Yet, her winning personality is compensation enough to let this trite convention slide.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one party you definitely want to attend.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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