Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Big fat laughs and more!
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING is for me the best "escape" movie all year long. While it doesn't break any new ground, it is thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Its box office grosses tell you this movie is hitting the right notes with the American public.The greatest feature is the cast: especially Michael Constantine, Andrea Martin (whose Aunt Voula character reminds me of Edith from Martin's SCTV days in the 80s!), and the always wonderful and genuinely funny LAINIE KAZAN. Kazan and Martin definitely steal many of their scenes from their co-stars: they have the best lines!! Nia Vardalos and John Corbett play the fairy-tale couple who have to overcome their parents' prejudices against intermarriage between a Greek and non-Greek. John Corbett has one of the funniest scenes for his "baptism". Not going to explain it, just go see the movie. MBFGW did remind me, in some ways of the old Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedies where all the sex/romance was implied but never seen onscreen. This movie has a lot of charm and comedy, without being vulgar. There's no profanity and no onscreen sex you'd be embarassed to watch with your parents. I think this is the key to the movie's success. It is literally a family movie for everyone from ages 6 to 96. ...
Rating:  - Watch Out Muriel's Wedding......
...You've just been replaced by another outstanding quirkly little comedy about ugly ducklings, strange families and weddings. Of course, I am referring to 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' What a gem of a movie!! The movie centers on Toula, played by the wonderfully talented Nia Vardalos (who also wrote the screenplay), who is 30, a little dowdy, stuck working in her parent's greek restaurant. She decides to make a change and go back to college and give her self a little makeover. With a little makeup, some new clothes and contact lenses, Toula feels more independent and starts to act on it. While working in her aunt's travel agency she meets Ian (the delicious John Corbett!) and embarks on a secret romance. Her family is very Greek, and very traditional, and she knows her father is determined to have her marry a 'nice, greek boy,' so she keeps the romance a secret. When the family does find out, the hilarity only continues. The entire film is filled with fun and laughter, some not so obvious and in-your-face, which works well. The supporting cast is outstanding, most notably Toula's father Gus (Michael Constantine, who manages to make Windex funny) and the always talented Lainie Kazan. But I was most surprised by Andrea Martin, who plays Aunt Voula. She steals every scene she is in. I won't spoil too much of the plot, but as the planning develops, so does the fun. This is such a light, fun, humorous movie with romance, heart and a talented cast. Very much worth the price of admission.
Rating: - Another recipe from the American Melting Pot
"America the melting pot" is a worn out cliché, but its tiresomeness doesn't detract from the fact that MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING is an amusing and appealing tale of the process in action.Nia Vardalos wrote the play on which this film version is based, in which she stars as Toula Portokalos, the 30 year old unmarried daughter of restaurateur Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine). Toula is a frumpy, bespectacled "seating hostess" in her father's Chicago establishment. Though the life cycle of a Greek girl is to marry a Greek boy, have lots of Greek kids, and spend her life feeding an extended Greek family, Gus is beginning to doubt Toula's ability to pull this off - particularly the first bit. Realizing she doesn't have a life, Toula connives with her mother Maria (Lainie Kazan) to land a job in her aunt's travel agency. Now, out in the real world - with the help of a cosmetic and fashion makeover - she meets and falls in love with high school teacher Ian Miller (John Corbett). Ian is decidedly not Greek. He's the only son of affluent, coldly reserved, WASP parents. The film's comedic plot revolves around the awkwardness resulting from the collision of two very different cultures during the course of Ian and Toula's BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. For example, when the elder Millers pull up in front of the Portokalos house for an initial get-acquainted get-together, they're appalled to see the entire Portokalos clan - Toula has 27 first cousins - roasting an animal carcass in the front yard. Did I mention that the Millers are vegetarians? I never felt the same affinity and sympathy for Gus and his family as I did for Lalit Verma and his family in MONSOON WEDDING, a splendid Indian film that is driven more by character development than by comic situations. Perhaps it was also because Lalit was coping with some very real predicaments, while Gus's problems are of his own mind's making. However, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING still works because the people seem very real. Toula and Ian are attractive in a reasonable, but not intimidating, way. (This isn't a cutely tousled Meg Ryan meets a handsomely charming Tom Hanks soap opera.) Ms. Kazan is terrific as the "family neck" which can turn the obstinate "family head" (Gus) in any way that she pleases. Both movies stress the value of large-family relationships, something long forgotten by the miniscule, Nuclear Age American families of WASP heritage that strive for independence from tribal obligations. Oh, and I have to believe the makers of Windex forked over some big bucks to support this film's production. Otherwise, who would've brought to our attention this stuff's amazing properties?
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