My Big Fat Greek Wedding
release year: 2002
genre: comedy
viewing setting: home DVD, 12/30/03
synopsis: A Greek woman finally meets Mr. Right, but he's not Greek, so her large and pushy family will turn the wedding into chaos.
impressions: This started out entertaining but then it started to piss me off. I liked the idea of this 30-year-old single woman taking some initiative and bettering her situation, but her family tended to be annoying. The movie also postulated that Greek people in general tend to enjoy life more than American people in general; I can't vouch for the truth of this, but it was the cornerstone of a lot of the humor. I guess my big problem is that this movie reminds me of all the people I know who completely buckled under and let their spouse-to-be's family take over and control their wedding (and subsequently, much of their life.) If that's your cup of tea, more power to you, but I find the very concept to be highly annoying.
special note: My girlfriend's best friend is Greek, and I have it on good faith that this movie's portrayal of Greek family life (especially in America) is dead-on.
things to watch for: The Windex moments, and anytime the cousin tells Ian to say something to the gathered family.
acting: There are way too many cast members for me to analyze here. The woman who played Toula did a good job, especially with the "before and after" effect. John Corbett was good as Ian, a man willing to give everything up for the right woman. Toula's mom was alternately annoying and endearing, while her dad was just annoying. The wisecracking cousin was pretty funny.
final word: Decent comedy, and a good primer on Greek family life.
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