Starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Laine Kazan, Michael Constantine, Andrea Martin,
Gia Carides, Louis Mandylor, Ian Gomez, Joey Fatone, Fiona Reid.
Directed by Joel Zwick. Written by Nia Vardalos.
Toula Portokalos (Vardalos) works with her parents Gus and Maria (Constantine, Kazan) at
the Dancing Zorba Greek Restaurant in suburban Chicago. Past 30 years old and with
no prospects on the horizon, she has not
done the three things required of her by her parents - marry a Greek boy, have lots of
Greek babies, and make lots of Greek food for her family. Stuck in a rut, she finally
has the courage to ask her dad to let her go to college, and with her mom's help he
finally relents. With her new found computer skills, she works at her aunt Voula's
(Martin) travel agency, and there she meets Ian (Corbett), a teacher who she had
awkwardly met a short time in the past at the restaurant.
They begin secretly dating, but eventually aunt Voula's gossipy daughter Nikki let's
the cat out of the bag, and Toula's mom and dad are furious. Dad feels betrayed that
the boy isn't Greek and mom tells her the fun is over, now end it. They proceed to
bring home an assorted collection of unmarried Greek boys/men for Voula to select from.
Toula and Ian keep seeing each other, and they plan to marry which doesn't make either
set of parents happy. But the movie is called My Big Fat Greek Wedding, so the big fat
wedding goes through.
Based on a one-woman play by the star Nia Vardalos, it is supposedly based on her own
Greek wedding where she married a non-Greek, actually Ian Gomez (Javier on Felicity).
After working in Second City in Toronto, she moved to Second City in Chicago. There
she met Gomez, and they got married, and like Ian, he was baptized into the Greek Orthodox
Church when he married Vardalos. He
has a small, funny part as Ian's best friend at school, and best man at the wedding.
The play was seen by Greek born actress Rita Wilson and her husband, some guy named Tom Hanks.
They were so impressed by the play, Hanks had his production company have produced the movie
and insisted Vardalos star in it. Good move. So often, an unknown is wonderful in a play
on Broadway or somewhere, but then that person is tossed aside for a name actor that
is more "bankable". And often the result is a crappier movie, that often doesn't do well
at the box office anyway. Vardalos is naturally charming, actually Greek and quite authentic.
One of the things that makes the romantic comedy work is her tendency to underplay the
romantic parts - there is rarely anything gooey. She convincingly portrays the shy,
underconfident person's inability to understand why a man would be attracted to her,
but we are able to see why - she's a sweetheart, warm smile and easy to get along with.
At the heart of the film is the message that you can't live your life trying to please
your parents, and while you may love your family, you have to live your own life.
Ian's dad and grandfather were both lawyers and Ian went into law school to please his
father, but it wasn't for him, and switched into teaching instead. And Toula also
has to find the courage to break away from her parent's loving but restrictive expectations.
On the negative side, a few of the antics are a bit cliched and over the top for the
type of film that is being made. A few have criticized the film for it's reliance on
ethnic humour and
stereotyping, and there is plenty of it. But behind the jokes and the jabs is the
theme which is stated by Toula at the end of the film - despite everyone's crazy antics,
she knows they love each other, and will always be there for her. And my impression is
that the jokes are never mean-spirited or meant to be insulting. Being a WASP like Ian,
I've been to enough Italian and Eastern European weddings to recognize some of these characters.
Besides, many of Vardalos' family members flew to Toronto to help out in the making of
the film, so it doesn't appear they take the content of the film in a negative way.
Besides Vardalos and Gomez, several other actors elevate the material and make it funnier
than it might have been. Leading the pack is Canadian Second City veteran Andrea Martin,
who has quite a few good lines, and steals virtually every scene she's in. Just like
she did on SCTV. Laine Kazan, as the wise matriarch who knows how to manipulate
her husband without his knowing it, and Gia Carides as the voluptous, brash friend of
Toula both are excellent. Corbett and Constantine are fine too, and even Joey Fatone
of N-Stync fame doesn't suck.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is warm-hearted and funny, and it's a date movie worth
seeing with or without a date.
 
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