My Big Fat Greek Wedding Movie Review

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

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Written by: Nia Vardalos
Directed by: Joel Zwick
Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine
Rated: PG
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Plot
Toula contends with her large Greek family as she figures out what to do with her life. She wants to go to college and get a job, they want her to find a Greek man and have children. When she gets engaged to a non-Greek Ian, they have to reconcile cultural differences as they plan their wedding with a little help.

Verdict
It's a pretty standard rom-com story, but it's executed really well. Setting it in the Greek culture adds a lot of depth as Toula has to deal with her wishes and the wishes of her enormous family for her. Once she is engaged, her family wants to plan the wedding for her. The story is her ascension to being an adult, albeit late. She has stop going along with what her family wants for her and decide what really is best for her.
It depends.

Review
With My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 coming out this month there is no better time to revisit the original.
Toula (Nia Vardalos) feels trapped working at her family's restaurant, Dancing Zorba's. Her family's Greek heritage is important to them, but Toula doesn't want to follow the tradition of getting married to a Greek man and becoming a baby factory.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding - A good premise makes for a good rom-com.

She decides to take a few college classes while simultaneously ditching her glasses and dressing better. Her mom and aunt trick her dad into letting her work at her aunt's travel agency, her mom telling her that men need to think everything is there own idea.
She meets Ian  (John Corbett) and they start dating, but since he's not Greek she hides her relationship from her family, telling them she's taking pottery lessons despite how dressed up she is.
With such a large family, someone sees them and the news spreads.
While her family is upset at first, they learn to accept him after he's baptized into the church. He has to accept such a large family who all want to plan the wedding for Toula.

The drama in the film is Toula contending with her large family. They all want to best for her, but differ on their definition of best. The movie delves into big families and Greek cultures, both being foreign to Ian her fiancee. The movie never makes the romance overtly sappy, though the character of Ian lacks depth. He's just a support character for Toula.