Dir. Joel Zwick
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a story of a Greek-American woman (Toula Portokalos, played by Nia Vardalos) who works in her family�s restaurant. She hates the way she looks, the way she acts, the way her family treats her; she hates her life in general. She takes steps to change, goes to school, and gets out of the restaurant into a relative�s travel agency. She gains some confidence, some direction, and then a boyfriend. The problem with the boyfriend (Ian Miller, played by John Corbett) is that he is not Greek, and her family is very, very Greek. The family is Greek to the extent that they do not want her involved with anyone who is not Greek. When they decide to get married the family goes crazy, first because he�s not Greek, then with plans for the wedding. Watching it happen is a nice affirmation that all families are crazy, and it�s possible some are crazier than yours.
One of my favorite things about this movie is that it doesn�t follow the movie rules. There is one scene in particular that was shaping up to be a typical scene, where the woman would lie, and there would be a big problem later because of the lie. In this movie, she told the truth (gasp!) and everything works out fine. People in this movie tend to have real reactions, as well. If you would find something embarrassing so did the characters. Since the movie is mostly about family, there is plenty of embarrassment to go around. Another thing I like is that the transformations Toula goes through are possible, and more internal than external. I think it�s fairly obvious that the reason she starts to look better is because she is feeling better about herself, not because there has been a beauty queen lurking under the surface the whole time (ala She�s All That or The Princess Diaries.) Do yourself a favor, go see this movie. It�s funny.
I rate it: Full Price
Nia Vardalos as Toula Portokalos
John Corbett as Ian Miller
Michael Constantine as Gus Portokalos
Lainie Kazan as Maria Portokalos