The one theater around here regularly doesn’t get movies. Some of the ones that never made it here have been movies I really wanted to see. I get really annoyed when this happens. I had to go an hour away to Columbus to see One Hour Photo last month - that movie did show up here last weekend, which really surprised me. Several months ago I saw some previews for a movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, that looked good to me, but the movie wasn’t in the theater here. I figured I’d have to wait to rent to the movie to see it. Finally, after almost six months, it actually showed up in the theater here. I went to see it with my best friend. We both loved the movie.

PLOT

Toula Portokalos was unmarried, still living at home, thirty, and working in her parents’ Greek restaurant, Dancing Zorba’s, in Chicago. Toula was a bit plain, and hadn’t had any dates for a while. Toula’s family was Greek and proud of their heritage. Her family was also large. She had one sister, Athena, and one brother, Nick. She had several aunts, uncles, and 27 first cousins. Several of the cousins had the same names, and forms of Nick were very popular in the family. Athena was married and had three sons. Nick wasn’t married and he also worked in the family’s business. Toula’s father Gus wanted her to marry a Greek man and have Greek children. He even wanted to send Toula to Greece so she could find a nice Greek man to marry, but Toula didn’t want to go. She wanted to take computer classes at a local college. Gus didn’t want her to do that, but her mother, Maria, convinced him to let her go. Maria and Gus ran the restaurant together. Maria was able to get Gus to do what she wanted him to do most of the time. Gus liked to tell people how every word had Greek origins. He also used Windex to treat all kinds of problems.

Toula started to make some other changes as well. She changed her hair style, got contacts, started to wear make-up, and got some new clothes. She went to work in her Aunt Voula’s travel agency after Maria and Voula managed to convince Gus that it was his idea for Toula to work there. Toula Met and started to date Ian Miller, a teacher. She told her family that she was taking a pottery class because he wasn’t Greek and she knew they would disapprove. Toula and Ian were dating for a while before someone saw them out together and word got back to her parents. Gus wasn’t happy and didn’t want Toula to see Ian anymore. They continued to date. Toula met Ian’s parents, Harriet and Rodney. They didn’t know anything about Greek culture, but they seemed to accept Toula. They weren’t as outgoing as Toula’s family.

Toula and Ian continued to date and they became engaged. Gus wasn’t happy about that. He had always wanted Toula to get married in the Greek Orthodox Church, and he didn’t think that would happen now since Ian wasn’t Greek. Toula overheard her parents talking and knew her father was upset, which caused her to be upset. She talked to Ian about it, and he said that he was willing to get married in the Greek Orthodox Church to make her parents happy. That meant that he had to become a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. Toula’s family took over the wedding plans. Ian’s parents weren’t really sure what to think, but they went along with the plans.

Did Toula’s family accept Ian? What happened when his family met Toula’s family? Did Toula and Ian get to make any decisions about the wedding? If you want to find out those things, see the movie.

CAST

Nia Vardalos - Fotoula (Toula) Portokalos
John Corbett - Ian Miller
Michael Constantine - Gus Portokalos
Laine Kazan - Maria Portokalos
Andera Martin - Aunt Voula
Gerry Mendicino - Uncle Taki
Joey Fatone - Angelo
Gia Carides - Nikki
Christine Eleusiniotis - Toula at age 6
Louis Mandylor - Nicolas (Nick) Portokalos
Starvroula Logothettis - Athena Portokalos
Fiona Reid - Harriet Miller
Bruce Grey - Rodney Miller

Joel Zwick - Director

Written my Nia Vardalos

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was 96 minutes long and rated PG. There were a few swear words used once or twice, but nothing excessive. The word that rhymes with luck wasn’t used at any time in the movie. I don’t think that the swearing in the movie was bad enough to offend anyone. There were one or two scenes that parents may not want younger children to see because they contain some sexual situations, but it would probably be all right for older children to see. Some children probably wouldn’t be interested in the movie though.

I really enjoyed My Big Fat Greek Wedding and plan to add it to my DVD collection once it is available in that form. I thought that the movie was very enjoyable. The movie didn’t have a complicated plot, so it didn’t make me think. This wasn’t a suspenseful movie, though I wasn’t sure exactly what would happen once or twice. This was a predictable movie - just look at the title - but it was really enjoyable to watch. This wasn’t a serious movie, though it did have a few more serious moments in it. Overall this was a fun, lighthearted, entertaining movie.

When I saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the other people in the theater were all different ages, but most did seem to be older. There were several men in the theater too. This movie did seem to be what is typically thought of as a chick flick, but the men in the theater were enjoying it too. This movie seems to have wide appeal. The movie was released six months ago and it started off with smaller earnings at the box office. It slowly built up steam over the summer as word about how good the movie was spread. It started to make more money and turned up in more theaters. Now, after being in theaters for six months, the movie has grossed more than $150 million. It is still making money, and has been in the top five earning movies at the box office for the last several weeks. This movie really showed that a smaller movie that is well made can turn into a huge hit. The power of word of mouth was what really made this movie so successful. After the movie was over and I was waiting in the line in the lady’s room, I heard some other women discussing how friends and relatives had told them weeks ago how good the movie was.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a very funny movie. It made me laugh several times. The theater wasn’t packed when I saw it, but there were several people in there. Everyone was laughing throughout the whole movie. Gus and the Windex cracked me up. I’d never heard of anyone doing that with Windex before, though my friend had heard of it before. Gus used it to treat all kinds of things including cuts, burns, and pimples. He was shown once sitting at the kitchen table soaking his elbow in a bowl of Windex. Later in the movie Ian was there when they were discussing wedding plans. Maria fixed some food and Ian burned his hand on the plate. Gus immediately whipped out his bottle of Windex and squirted down Ian’s hand. The look on Ian’s face when that happened was hilarious. He didn’t complain though. Ian was learning Greek and he asked Nick, who found it funny to tell Ian to say some off color remarks in Greek.

Since Toula and her family were Greek, things about Greek culture and heritage were important to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Gus was very proud of being Greek and felt that his children should feel the same way. He claimed that every word had Greek origins. Toula wasn’t really ashamed of being Greek, but some scenes showing her childhood showed how that did make her a target for teasing from the other kids who didn’t understand her culture. She was a bit embarrassed by the outside of their house since it was made to look like the Parthenon, had statues of Greek Gods all over the place, and the flag of Greece was painted on the garage door. Ian didn’t know anything about Greek traditions, but he was willing to learn. Toula taught him some things. He learned more after he agreed to have their wedding in the Greek Orthodox Church. The movie did poke fun at some Greek traditions, and that could offend some Greek people. I have no idea if the Greek traditions shown in the movie were accurate or not.

There was romance in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The relationship between Toula and Ian was the main focus of the movie. They met, fell in love, and get engaged during the movie, so the viewers get to see their relationship develop. Once they started making wedding plans, the movie didn’t show Toula and Ian alone together much. They were shown kissing at different times during the movie, and there were a few sexual situations in the movie. There weren’t any actual sex scenes in the movie, but it is implied that Toula and Ian have a sexual relationship. One scene does show them laying in bed together talking. Ian didn’t have a shirt on in that scene. That was it for nudity in the movie. If people are offended by the idea of people having a sexual relationship before marriage, then maybe they shouldn’t see this movie.

The acting in My Big Fat Greek Wedding was quite good. I’ve seen Laine Kazan in a few different movies before, so I recognized her when she came on screen. I had forgotten that she was in the movie before that. I thought she was really good and funny as Maria. It was funny at times to see how she manipulated her husband into doing what she wanted him to do. Nia Vardalos seemed familiar to me at times, but I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything before this movie. She was very good in her role as Toula. She wrote the movie and it was based on a one woman show she did, so she was familiar with the material. I thought she was very believable as a woman who was unhappy and went about changing her life to become happy. John Corbett was good as Ian. He had some funny moments and a few touching moments in the movie, and it was great in all of them. His eyes were very expressive at times. This was the first thing I had seen him in since Northern Exposure. Before I saw the movie, I had forgotten who he was, and I didn’t remember until I saw him in the movie. Joey Fatone, from ‘NYSNC was only in a few scenes and he didn’t have too many lines, so I really couldn’t tell how good an actor he was.

CHARACTERS

Toula - She was a thirty-year-old woman still living at home and working in her parent’s restaurant when she decided she wanted to change things in her life. Some people in her family did seem to take advantage of her at times. They thought she should marry a Greek man and have Greek children. She did love her family, but at times she wanted some space and privacy from them. She kept her relationship with Ian from her family for a while because she knew they would disapprove. She still had some confidence issues after she changed some things about herself, but she got better. She was still shy at times. She did do some changing over the course of the movie. She was a nice, funny, woman.

Ian - He was a teacher. He was understanding when Toula told him about how she didn’t want all of her family knowing about their relationship. He didn’t try to push her into things she didn’t want to do and he gave her time to get over her shyness. He was interested in her life and in Greek traditions. Once they got engaged, he was willing to have the wedding in the Greek Orthodox Church to make her family happy. He tried hard to get her family to like him. He was a kind, loving, and sometimes funny man.

Gus - Toula’s father. He owned a restaurant, Dancing Zorba’s with his wife Maria. He moved to America, but he was still very proud of being Greek. He went around telling anyone who would listen that all words had Greek origins. Once, someone tried to stump him by giving him a Japanese word, but after he thought for a minute or two, he came up with a Greek origin for that one too. He thought that Windex was some sort of wonder product and used it to treat all kinds of things. He seemed to always have a bottle of Windex with him. He wanted Toula to marry a Greek man. He was even willing to send Toula on a trip to Greece to find a man to marry. He was unhappy when she got engaged to Ian, but Gus started to come around after he found out the wedding was going to take place in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Maria - Toula’s mother and Gus’s wife. She worked in the restaurant too. She was more understanding about Toula wanting to do some different things, and she managed to convince her husband to go along with them too. She even convinced him that one thing was his own idea. She had wanted Toula to marry a Greek man too, but she wanted her daughter to be happy more. She was more accepting of the marriage than Gus was at first. She got very involved in the planning of the wedding. She ordered the invitations before talking to Toula and Ian about it, and they had the wrong names for Ian’s parents on them.

There were several more characters in the movie, mainly members of Toula’s family. I’m not going to talk about them because they weren’t in as much of the movie.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a funny, enjoyable movie that is worth going to see. I really think it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. People who like romantic comedies really should see this movie.



Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12