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| The inspired poster for Joel Zwick's My Big Fat Greek Wedding |
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the romcom sensation of 2002. Its Oscar-nominated script by star Nia Vardalos (I Hate Valentine's Day (2009), writer-director-star) was based on her one-woman Los Angeles play about her own Greek family and marriage to a non-Greek, which inspired producer-couple Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks (with their company Playtone) to make a movie out of it. - It turned out Vardalos already had a script!
Our heroine Toula is the depressed, still unmarried daughter of age 30, who hides around the family restaurant, as she meets a charming man, and they immediately fall in love. The only problem: He's not Greek!
Some have termed Greek Wedding a feel-GREAT movie, and it's not far from the truth: Its plot is rather breezy, and you're never in doubt that the two lovers will eventually have each other and that everything will work out. - Which is nice for a change, especially in such an engaging, lively and funny dish as this.
The production is immaculate, and the direction, (although one early meeting-scene should have had more of a context), is solid. The director is TV-specialist Joel Zwick (Full House (1987-95)).
Some critics have complained that the film is predictable and sitcom-ish, both of which are labels I didn't find really apply to the film, which is inspired, boisterous and up-beat, in its conclusion both a celebration of love, traditions and, not least, family.
The details:
What perhaps distinguishes Greek Wedding more than anything else, is that the sincerity behind it can be felt: Sure some elements are exaggerated for comic effect, but its core is real and personal, and that comes across and connects us to the story and its characters.
What also solidifies the film is its several auspicious and game cast members: Vardalos is great as her own alter ego, and she can really deliver lines and give a resonating performance; Michael Constantine (The Hustler (1961)) and Lainie Kazan (Bigfoot and the Hendersons (1987)) as her parents are indispensable; Andrea Martin (Wag the Dog (1997)) is fun as her aunt, and Louis Mandylor (The Set Up (1995)) is sincere and good as her brother. John Corbett (The Burning Plain (2008)) as the lover-husband feels a bit slight, probably because the character is a bit slim. But his parents, played by Bruce Gray (Water for Elephants (2011)) and Fiona Reid (The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)) are fun as his stiff WASP parents.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a happy time you shouldn't deprive yourself of. It has a sequel in development, also spearheaded by Vardalos.
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| A still of Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan and the unknown actress that plays the grandmother from Joel Zwick's My Big Fat Greek Wedding |
Watch the trailer here
Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 368.7 mil. $
= Huge hit
[The film was a highly surprising sleeper hit, as it has no real stars and might be expected to mostly play to Greeks: It spent 17 weeks in top 10 in America and racked up 241.1 mil. $ (65 % of the total gross) in North America, making it the 5th highest grossing film of the year there and one of the most profitable romcoms ever made. - And the highest grossing film ever in North America to never make the # 1 spot. It was also a big hit abroad, especially in Europe.]
What do you think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding?
Are any of Nia Vardalos' other works worth checking out?
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