Sadly Over-hyped

Boring

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

By the time this goes to press My Big Fat Greek Wedding will have set a box-office record for an independent film. The question that begs to be answered is why? There is no epic love story, no superhero, no psychiatrist-turned cannibal, and no guns-blazing action. So how did this low-budget independent film make its way to the top of the box-office heap? What is it that has audiences going back for more? I think it's because there is no epic love story, no superhero, no psychiatrist-turned cannibal, etc. That is, this could be about the family next door.I know, growing up in Chicago (where the movie is set), I lived next door to a Greek family, and dated a Greek-American girl who was afraid to tell her parents she was dating a non-Greek. This is the central problem in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.Nia Vardalos, the author of the play on which the movie is based, plays Toula Portokalos, a 30-year old "seating hostess" at the family restaurant. Toula is still single and this makes her a failure of sorts in the eyes of her extended family. The good news is that she falls in love and the guy loves her too. The bad news is that her new love is not Greek, and marrying a non-Greek is the only thing worse than being single.There's not much suspense in how this story ends. The title is a dead giveaway. But the real excitement and charm is in the telling. This film reminded me of two other romantic comedies, While You Were Sleeping and Return to Me. But this film manages the same humor and charm without resorting to plot devices like rescuing a man thrown on the train tracks or finding out that your new love has your dead wife's heart.Like those stories, much of the charm comes from the quirky family and friends. Michael Constantine is especially good as Toulah's father, a man who believes Windex can cure anything and all words are derived from Greek. Unlike those movies, this one has an air of plausibility. The characters seem like real people, and while the situations seem strange at points, they are close enough to possible that the viewer is easily caught up in the tale.In an era of special effects razzle-dazzle and movie spectaculars, I enjoyed this small film with a big heart. If you, like me, are bored with all of the formula films, give this one a chance. Just be sure to take some Windex in case you hurt yourself laughing.

*** This review contains spoilers ***My Big Fat Greek Wedding Review There is a big family who lives in Chicago even though they all are brought up to be strictly Greek. Father of the family is Gus which is very racist of Greek and her daughter and other members of the family are Voula, Yiayia, Maria, Nick Portokalos living the same home together. Our main character Toula Portokalas is a woman who is 30 years and not married yet. She lives in America but grows in the totally Greek family. Her father is so Greek that he can even turn 'kimono' means into Greek version. Toula has a brother and sister. Her sister is a traditional Greek woman who has many kids and a Greek husband, on the other hand, Toula hasn't. Her parents want her to marry with Greek man and has kids as far as possible like her sister, but she is little bit introverted and shy person until she meets with Ian Miller who is an American man Miller Ian. Miller Ian's life and background are a little bit different from Toula's. He has very small and separated family when I compare with the Greek family. His parents are not obsessive of racism or religion. Also, Miller does not care about Toula at the beginning of the movie because of her strange appearance and altitude but later Toula starts to be a real woman then she grabs Miller's attention. When they are together I observed that different background and lifestyle of Toula makes her attractive and irresistible to Miller. The more they date the more they get closer which means Families need to meet but Greek family and American family are totally different from each other. Thus, Toula and Miller have a really difficult job in terms of cultures conflict. Taula was going to introduce Miller to her family but one relative sees them together in the car while they are kissing. Then all family hear it and come home. Taula's father gets mad that Miller is not a Greek man and does not accept him as a groom. After that day, Family starts to look for different grooms but Taula still loves Miller so much and Miller introduces her to his family. She looks so nervous because Miller's parents are not talkative and lively like her parents. Also, they cannot even pronounce Taula's surname because it is so long and they are not accustomed to hearing it in their daily life but at least they respect her and accept her as a bride. Then Taula's family is persuaded because they see that her little daughter really loves Miller and wants to marry only with him. Miller, Taula, and parents come together and celebrate Easter. In this part of the film, I realized that Miller feels so happy with this strange and noisy family because he has not a family like that. After celebrity, in a short span of time they marry and Father Gus buy them a house as a wedding gift. In my opinion, 'house' is a symbol and it represents that Greek family really adopt and accept him to their big family. The movie ends like this now I want to write about culture concept in this movie. As far as I observe that Greek's daily life and expectations are the same as ours. For example, someone says 'I prepared moussaka tonight for you'. I really know that this is actually our food. This is probably because of so many interactions of two different cultures. The more Greek and Turkish cultures conflict and interact, the more our cultures get similar to each other as we observe here, on the other hand, American's culture is very different from Greek culture. The American family is a little bit calm and they don't live in big families as Greek and Turkish families. Apart from this, the structure of the family is also the same with Greek people. For example, Greek family is also crowded and depended on each other like us. They live together in the same house. Even the altitude of the mother is same. For example, Turkish mother acts as if the guest was starving even though S/he is not. This is because both cultures are welcoming to guests. It was like that in the movie. Until this movie, I have never known that Turkish and Greek cultures are close like this. Another similarity is getting married off. In Turkey, if you are mature people who have a great job, you need to marry with someone like in the movie. Until this movie, I guess that we are the only ones supporting marriage after a particular age, but I think it is good to hear other voices. Other similarities between two cultures are music. I feel like I am watching a Turkish series. Especially in the wedding ceremony, the tone is very Islamic and they say 'amin' instead of 'amen'. Also Greeks like eating meat like us that's why they feel shocked when they hear that Miller is vegetarian. I learned that Greek and Turkish cultures are so similar with the help of this movie. To sum up, people from different background and cultures can get on well with each other and people should not be prejudged. As far as I observe If you are racist and nationalist to people maybe you cannot realize and see the good part of them. As Gus says Toula can be 'Portokalos' which means orange and Miller can be 'apple' but they are all fruits.

The first time I watched this movie, I liked it. Then, I started to think about it and realized that I actually don't like it. The main problem is probably me because I have issues with plots that revolve around over-bearing families being the problem in the protagonist's life. The reason why I have issues with that plot is that the family is almost never confronted by the protagonist about their over- bearing behavior. It is always the protagonist's fault for not liking her over-bearing family. To me, that's a problem. Yes, the protagonist should evolve love their family, but the family should also realize that there is a time and a place to be over-bearing. For example, when Toula and Ian where at Toula's house deciding on wedding invitations and such, Toula's sister (or her mother, I can't remember) says she made the wedding invitations, that Toula has to invite relatives she doesn't know, and her cousin Nicky walks in with her design for the bridesmaid dress. If I were Toula, I would have snapped. I would have appreciated what they were doing, but the wedding was becoming more about the family and less about Toula. That is a perfect moment when Toula should have confronted her family, or at least did it without Ian there so it is not that awkward. Another point she should have confronted her family is when her mother said they invited the whole family to meet Ian's parents. That is way too much for any person to handle in the first time meeting your daughter-in-law's family. While there is one point when Toula's father says that Ian's parents looked at them like they were from a zoo, it was in the movie for the sole purpose of Toula giving in to her family's crazy ways. It had no impact on the family as a whole and neither parents tried to meet the other parents half-way. If Toula's parents tried to compromise and Ian's parents still looked at them funny, then that line is warranted. But that didn't happen. Nothing really changed or evolved. The wedding was less about what Toula wanted and more about what her family wanted. If the movie wasn't focused on the crazy family, then I would give the movie a better rating. However, that is the point of the film and thus I give the movie 5/10.

Wonderful film depicting strong family and ethnic ties. Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan are terrific as the parents of a 30 year old daughter, unmarried and looking as if she shall settle into a grim spinsterhood.Along comes an American teacher and love blossoms in record time and the two prepare for marriage.The film is a living testament to the fact then when you marry, you also marry the family. There is quite a lot of work to do to get the two very different families to get and like one another.Acceptance of others insofar as their culture and ethic makeup build the foundation for a very amusing, heartfelt and enjoyable watch.