OOOPAH!!!
In 2002, almost every single person on the face of the planet went and watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when it was out in theaters. It was the number one movie for like months and months and it wasn't released on video until a few months ago. Ok, not really, but if anyone asks me why it took me so long to see this movie, that's what my answer is going to be.
The movie starts in Chicago and Tula and her father Gus are going to open the family owned restaurant, The Dancing Zorba. Tula is a very depressed woman. She's 30, kind of frumpy looking, lives with her parents, and very single. Her family is concerned about Tula not wanting to get married to a nice Greek boy. It is Greek tradition that Greek women marry Greek boys and have Greek kids. But Tula thinks that isn't the life for her.
Then she meets Ian, a non-Greek high school teacher played by Glenn Corbett, who was the main guy in the Fox sci-fi series "The Visitor". The first few encounters Tula has with Ian, she is frozen solid and goes ga-ga over him.
Tula also decides that she wants to go back to school and learn about computers. After which, she gets a job at her aunt's travel agency. Tula also dropped the big glasses, but not the big hair, and ends up looking kind of sort of pretty. It is then that Ian decides to approach her and ask her out.
They go out on a few dates, but Tula keeps it a secret until her cousin Nicki discovers them and tells the ENTIRE family. Tula's dad isn't too happy with it and the family tells her to leave Ian and find a good Greek man, which her dad tries to set her up with. Let me be the first to say that letting your parents set you up with anybody is a bad idea. I know from experience but that's a long story.
Ian proposes marriage and she accepts. The dad will accept Ian only if he is baptized in the Greek church, which Ian does, in a blow up kiddie pool. Then the wedding plans are set into action. Tula's parents invites every single member of the family, they make traditional Greek entrees, and even the invitations are Greek.
Ian's parents also meet Tula's family and are slightly taken aback. I think it's called "culture shock". They don't know how to handle the hordes of people and the loudness of everyone, plus they get ahold of some Greek alcohol and get pretty wasted pretty fast. The mother, who's name is Harriet, is called Harry by the family.
The wedding day comes and every female member of the family pokes and prods Tula and gets her ready for the wedding ceremony. Then it's time for mom, a big Greek woman, to give Tula "the talk", which grosses Tula out. Ian and Tula are offically married and as a wedding gift, Tula's parents buy them a house...right next door.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was very funny, with only little snippets of romance, which is what I really liked about it. Few of the funnier moments in the movie was Tula's grandmother, who thinks the war with the Turk's is still going on and has a tendancy to run away from the house. Also, all the male members of the family trick Ian into saying real disgusting things in Greek like "Nice boobs" or "I have three testicles". And Tula's father secret medicine was Windex. He put Windex on everything. Bloody nose, Windex. Broken collarbone, Windex. Limp penis, Windex. I bet the Windex people thanked this movie.
Oh, and Joey Fatone, from "N'Sync" fame is in this has one of the thousands of Tula's cousins. Thankfully, he was hardly in the movie so his presence didn't ruin it. And-ouch, my hands hurts from typing so much.
Where's the windex?
4 stars.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" on IMDb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259446/