When love transcends barriers
Jan 23, 2003
<b>Film:</b> My Big fat Greek Wedding<br><b>Stars:</b> Nia Vardalos, John Carbett, M. Constatine<br><b>Director:</b> Joel Zwick<br><b>Screenplay: </b>Nia Vardalos<br><b>Running time:</b> 96 mins<br><b>Rating:</b> PG-13 for sensuality and language<br><b>Showing at: </b>Cineplex, Garden City fro
THE film My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about real people. Not like those Hollywood surreal romantic films where, as one critic famously put it: “Julia Roberts cannot get a date.â€
No, this one is about real people, and no wonder it comes from the experience of one Greek-American girl, who wrote a one-character play, sold it as a film, wrote the screenplay, and acted in the female leading role.
And because it is real, it has set box office records all over the world. Made on a paltry budget of $5m, it has grossed more than $300m since its release early last year, and is the biggest film ever made by an independent producer.
Toula Portokalos (Vardalos), is a 30-year-old Greek woman considered too old by her people. Greek girls do three things: marry a nice Greek boy, produce lots of nice Greek children and feed the whole family.
Somehow, Toula feels there is more to life than working long hours in the family restaurant. Freedom comes one day in the person of Ian Miller (John Corbett), an English teacher who stops by one day for lunch at the restaurant. His appearance makes her heart leap, and so does his.
They both like each other, but there is a slight problem –– she is Greek. And as she tells him: “No one in our family has ever gone out with a non-Greek.â€
Toula’s father, Gus (Michael Constatine), is a traditionalist who is shamed that his eldest daughter is not married, but insists it has to be a ‘nice Greek boy.’ So Toula’s choice of boyfriend, and later fiancée, causes some problems in the family.
The result is that their affair has to be carried out in secret, and most notably on the floor of the travel bureau where Toula now works. But they cannot hide forever, and word soon seeps back to the parents about Toula’s boyfriend.
The film is a study on inter-racial
marriages among America’s immigrant communities. If the lovers have understanding parents, love will probably win the day. If they do not and are too strict, well, nothing much will come out of the relationship.
But the movie moves along nicely, and has been the surprise hit of 2002. Critics’ reaction was largely warm.
“The movie is arm-hearted in the way a movie can be when it knows its people inside out,†says Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times.
“The movie delivers a sugar rush without the calories,†says Megan Turner, of New York Post.
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding is that rare animal known as ‘a perfect family film,’ because it’s about family,†says Anita Schmaltz, of Orlando Weekly.
“Exactly what its title implies: lusty, boisterous and utterly charming,†says Jonathan R. Perry, of Tyler Morning
No, this one is about real people, and no wonder it comes from the experience of one Greek-American girl, who wrote a one-character play, sold it as a film, wrote the screenplay, and acted in the female leading role.
And because it is real, it has set box office records all over the world. Made on a paltry budget of $5m, it has grossed more than $300m since its release early last year, and is the biggest film ever made by an independent producer.
Toula Portokalos (Vardalos), is a 30-year-old Greek woman considered too old by her people. Greek girls do three things: marry a nice Greek boy, produce lots of nice Greek children and feed the whole family.
Somehow, Toula feels there is more to life than working long hours in the family restaurant. Freedom comes one day in the person of Ian Miller (John Corbett), an English teacher who stops by one day for lunch at the restaurant. His appearance makes her heart leap, and so does his.
They both like each other, but there is a slight problem –– she is Greek. And as she tells him: “No one in our family has ever gone out with a non-Greek.â€
Toula’s father, Gus (Michael Constatine), is a traditionalist who is shamed that his eldest daughter is not married, but insists it has to be a ‘nice Greek boy.’ So Toula’s choice of boyfriend, and later fiancée, causes some problems in the family.
The result is that their affair has to be carried out in secret, and most notably on the floor of the travel bureau where Toula now works. But they cannot hide forever, and word soon seeps back to the parents about Toula’s boyfriend.
The film is a study on inter-racial
marriages among America’s immigrant communities. If the lovers have understanding parents, love will probably win the day. If they do not and are too strict, well, nothing much will come out of the relationship.
But the movie moves along nicely, and has been the surprise hit of 2002. Critics’ reaction was largely warm.
“The movie is arm-hearted in the way a movie can be when it knows its people inside out,†says Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times.
“The movie delivers a sugar rush without the calories,†says Megan Turner, of New York Post.
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding is that rare animal known as ‘a perfect family film,’ because it’s about family,†says Anita Schmaltz, of Orlando Weekly.
“Exactly what its title implies: lusty, boisterous and utterly charming,†says Jonathan R. Perry, of Tyler Morning