My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Customer reviews:

Transformation and Inspiration with Laughs, 2008-08-04
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is so much more than a romantic comedy... it is a laugh-out-loud story of a woman changing everything about herself--from ugly duckling to swan... BUT unlike the ugly duckling, genetics aren't doing the work for her. She chooses and goes after a new life, something millions of us can relate to, at least in our desire to change. First she changes her mindset, then her appearance... and then her confidence grows to the point where she's genuinely an attractive person to be around.
There are movies where the hero is always great (Rob Roy), there are movies where the hero is shaped and built by others (Matrix, Ice Age), and then there are a few, like this one, Legally Blonde, and The Pursuit of Happyness where the hero takes charge and becomes someone with greater fulfillment and a bigger life: someone who can inspire the rest of us. But of the transformational movies I mention here, this one is the most realistically accessible for those of us with limited resources and limited ambition.
So, I recommend it as comedy, but more than that, I recommend it to every woman who needs a little inspiration to transform herself, whether in appearance, education, ambition, love, or confidence...

A Big Fat Overrated Piece of Fluff, 2008-06-24
I just don't understand it. Why was this, a film about a mousy 30-something Greek woman getting a Pygmalion makeover and finding the man of her dreams, then going through the cacophony of planning a wedding with her colossal nuclear family, such a critical and box-office masterstroke? Why was a script written by the film's star, lacking in plot and containing banal dialogue, hailed as one of the better comedies of 2002? Why does everyone think that this movie is so great?

I'll tell you why - HYPE. Movies like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" have lived off this wondrous distortion of facts since the beginning of time and the reason for their continued success is that moviegoers never bother to question the gushing quotes of such renowned publications as Newsweek, People and the Los Angeles/New York Times. Simply put, to describe "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" as "hilarious", "brilliant" or otherwise "spectacular" is RUBBISH. This movie is schmaltzy, cringe-inducing and uninspired. 1990's "Father of the Bride" and "Muriel's Wedding" are a riot compared to this.

Here's the mundane storyline: Toula Portokalos (Vardalos) is a woman on the precipice of middle-age whose parents consistently give her grief about being an old maid - all they've wanted and planned for her since she was a child was to get married as soon as she came of age. What makes things worse for her is that her older sister Athena has been married for nearly a decade, has three children and is pregnant with her fourth. Toula is exhausted by the henpecking of her female relatives to find a husband and by her authoritative, sexist father Gus (Constantine) - he is against all things that elevate women above men, particularly regarding employment and higher education.

Problems arise when Toula finally meets Mr. Right, a college professor named Ian Miller (Corbett) whose background radically differs from hers. All spouses within the Portokalos family are of Greek lineage and Ian's opposing ancestry causes dissension with Toula's parents, particularly Gus. So Ian, being the nice guy that he is, decides to get baptized in a Greek Orthodox church so he can obtain a mandated marriage to Toula and make peace with her folks. The movie ends with the extravagant ceremony and reception, complete with an extremely generous wedding gift from Gus to the newlyweds that aims to wrench the heartstrings of its viewers.

There - I've told you the whole story, minus a few details. I'll also tell you that the script, lauded as "hilarious", is far from it. It isn't smart humor, it isn't slapstick, it isn't wry - it's totally uninspired and will leave many people scratching their noggins in utmost bewilderment. Where is the incredible mirth that the critics suggested? Those liars - I should've rented "There's Something About Mary" or "Dumb and Dumber" and gotten my money's worth. Families with a Greek lineage may enjoy the many inside quips, but being German-Irish myself, the jokes were lost on me.

Both Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson backed this project by serving as producers, giving the unknown Vardalos a chance to take her one-woman stage show to the mainstream. I'm beginning to think the Hanks were the ONLY reason this film was pushed in the limelight.

Bottom line: "Cutesy" and "heartwarming" would be the fairest ways to describe "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". If you want to be rolling in the aisles, rent "Bruce Almighty" - that's hilarity at it's finest, with a little "heartwarming" on the side.