My Big Fat Greek Wedding
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Movie Reviews of My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Movie Review: Raise Your Glass of Ouzo To The Funniest Movie of the Year
Summary: 5 Stars
Gus Portokalos tells his daughter Toula there are two kinds of people in the world: Greeks and those who wish they were Greek. Certainly everyone who watches this movie will yearn to be Greek, if only for a few days. The over-the-top extended family, the mountains of food, the parental dictums that often fly in the face of logic, the mountains of food, the strong faith-centered family, the mountains of food, the dozens of cousins, and did I mention the mountains of food? This is not only the funniest movie I've seen this year, but also the best romantic comedy to come along recently. The audience was laughing so hard I missed some of the lines and can't wait to see it again when it comes out on video.
Michael Constantine steals the show as the irrational father who desperately wants his daughter to marry a Greek man. Lainie Kazan is at her peak as the mother who explains that although the father is "the head" of the house, the mother is "the neck" and can make the head turn in any direction she pleases.
Writer and leading lady Nia Vardalos is amazing to watch as she transforms from ugly duckling to beauty and captures the heart of handsome non-Greek Ian Miller. John Corbett (Aidan from "Sex and the City") is flawless as Ian, the smitten WASP who readily converts to Greek Orthodox to make his future in-laws happy. His baptism is a highlight of this wonderful story as is his introduction of his parents to life in the Portokalos home.
There are so many funny things in this movie from the kidnapped Greek mother who curses Turks to the 90-minute commercial for Windex and the tiny little string on the wedding gift the bride's parents give the newlyweds that everyone will come away smiling and feeling good just knowing that somewhere in the world another Greek-American wedding is probably being planned.
Movie Review: Put some Windex on it...
Summary: 5 Stars
After several weeks of this film lingering within the top 10, and a lot of good buzz surrounding it I finally had to see it. And I was rewarded for my curiosity.The movie starts with Toula, a 30 year old Greek girl, telling the audience about the three main responsibilities of Greek women: 1) marry a Greek man, 2) have Greek children, and 3) cook Greek food for everyone in the family. ... The film also takes us through the preparations leading up to the wedding, and the wedding itself followed by the reception.
There are many small details that set this film apart from others, the honesty of the characters, the reality of Greek culture and traditions, and the simplicity of a timeless story.
Nia Verdalos (who plays Toula) wrote the screenplay based on her stand-up comedy show. When Rita Wilson (also Greek) saw it, she quickly convinced Tom Hanks to watch it as well. He saw it, loved it, then decided to produce a movie out of it. It cost a meekly ($$$) to make but estimates have it racking up close to ($$$) by the time it hits videos. It just goes to show, a good story is worth much much more than fancy special effects and big-name
celebrities. (By the way, N'Sync's Joey Fatone plays a small part as Cousin Angelo. If you ask me, he looks and sounds more Italian than Greek. He'll also be one of the cast member's of Rent on Broadway.)
I think just about anyone can relate to this movie. Whether you're Greek or not, you'll find something in this film to rave about. I guarantee you will not be dissappointed.
LEAP rating (each out of />L (Language) - 4.5 (wonderfully human story, relatable glimpse into Greek life)
E (Erotica) - 0 (n/a)
A (Action) - 0 (n/a)
P (Plot) - 3 ...
Movie Review: Non-Stop Laughter
Summary: 5 Stars
I went and saw this movie in my movie theatre on opening night in Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. I knew absoultly nothing about it, it just looked interesting. This movie was not over publicized it was sort of kept quiet. I dragged my Best friend with me to see it. From the very FIRST scene all the way to the END we never stopped laughing. Now, I thought this movie was great so the next day at work (Cineplex Odeon, where we saw the movie), I was taking tickets at the door. I had an woman come up to me and ask if I thought that SIGNS would be a good movie for a 83 year old woman who lives alone to go and see. Well I thought that because I jumped in that movie, this might give an old lady a heart attack. I told her to go and see My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The lady asked me if I thought it would be an appropriate show for her family. Meaning were there lots of course language or Sex scenes. Well really there isn't much in this movie. And I said that I was going to take my grandparents and My mom and her boyfriend to go see it on Friday. She decided to take her 83 year old mother and her 12 year old daughter to see this movie I was bragging about. On the way out of the movie she stopped and told me that I was right it is the best movie she has seen in a long time.
Now everytime somebody comes up to me and asks "how is this movie", I always say it is the best movie you will see in a long time.
I have now dragged 3 of my friends and My WHOLE family to see this movie and they all loved it. And My friends are Bringing their other friends to it.
Three things you will notice when you watch this film:
1. Barely any SEX Scences
2. No Course language
3. Nobody is smoking
And that is very rare these days.
Movie Review: Greek as they come
Summary: 5 Stars
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) dir. Saw it last night IN A THEATER, in Jacksonville. Theater was packed, an indication of the popularity of this film. It has been around 13 weeks, I'm told, and it reached our unreachable neighborhood.
It was fun and funny, though the jokes were rather standard Greek clichés, or pre-conceptions of Greek-American families; daddy too conservative to allow daughter (now pushing thirty) to date any other male than a Greek; Greek brothers and sisters, a "Greek" mother (played by Elaine Kazan who is black), Greek aunts, dozens of cousins, an little bundle of a grandmother, daffy and senile who still thinks the Turks are after her, and other such absolutely ridiculous situations. Of Course Toula, the daughter, inevitably meets an American young man she likes, breaks loose from the tightness of the family restaurant, where she is a waitress, open a travel bureau ("Olympus"), and eventually she becomes liberated.
The two families--the American and the Greek--are studies in contrast, and both caricatures. It works at a certain level, the jokes keep tumbling from the mouths of innocents, the music is good, there is some dancing (inevitable in all things Greeks), and even a Zorba's diner (also inevitable) and testament to the lingering influence of the movie Zorba the Greek, which does not mean that the movie is anywhere as serious as that; in fact, it is a romantic comedy that, despite all the misunderstandings and little innocent brawls, ties nicely together, for there is nothing unpleasant, no ugly scenes anywhere, just good-hearted fun.
Fresh, and innovative because of that quality, so lacking in today's blockbuster nothings that populate the screens these days. Go see it.
Movie Review: Give me a word, any word...
Summary: 5 Stars
Toula (Nia Vardalos) is a thirty something, single American Greek girl, and, in the eyes of her family, rapidly becoming over the hill. She herself is bored with her monotonous life, with nothing to do other than work as a waitress in her family's restaurant. One day a man walks into her restaurant and Tula's life is about to change forever. The instant attraction she feels seems to somehow give her the push she needs to climb out of her rut, and she promptly enrols on a college course, learns how to use make up and dress well and, best of all, gets a new job in her Aunts travel agency.
It is while she is working there that the stranger, Ian, reappears in her life. What follows is a heart-warming tale of two people falling in love whilst trying to overcome their differing ethnic backgrounds. Tula's family are determined she should marry a `nice Greek boy' whilst Ian's, (John Corbett), family are very uptight, middle class and horrified by Tula's outgoing, lively, loud and, above all, large family.
The show stealer is Michael Constantine as Mr Portokalos, who believes everyone secretly wants to be Greek and whose favourite occupation is to tell people the origins of words ...of course, in his eyes they all stem from the Greek language, even kimono! His other favourite pastime is using Windex cleaner for everything from cleaning to treating wounds, and recommending the same to anyone who will listen. Constantine plays this role with real humour but also pathos.
The downside of the DVD is the complete lack of extras; it doesn't even have subtitles, which is very annoying when you're hard of hearing. That apart, this is a very funny, yet touching film, that is suitable for all the family to watch.