My Big Fat Greek Wedding

7/10 - cute and unique rom-com has aged fairly well and tackles complicated cultural issues which is quite refreshing in mainstream studio-backed films.

The hype for this film has inflated its reputation to ridiculous proportions. The story is cliched, the characters are stereotypical, and the humor is far less "hit" than "miss". The entire story plays in a shallow, two dimensional manner that leaves the viewer feeling like they just watched a mediocre sitcom. John Corbett is shaggy, smiley, and incredibly vapid. Nia Vardalos brings nothing but the fact that she's Greek to this overdone ugly-duckling story. To their credit, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, and Michael Constantine elicit a few chuckles, though they are restricted by their one-trick-pony characters. As a whole, I was entirely unimpressed by this bland, over-hyped schlock.

I really enjoyed "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I think anyone of Italian, Greek, Jewish - well, just about any descent, can really appreciate the humor. Of course, it has a little bit of fantasy in it as well as reality with the introduction of the John Corbett character. He is a hunk, and I think from that point on, the film becomes a little less realistic for many but still great fun. This is a very funny, warm film, with some excellent performances from Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Michael Constantine, etc. They say write about what you know, and this is a great case in point. The entire family situation feels right on with some hilarious scenes. I'm not sure how long the film is, but it flew by.

This movie was a huge disappointment, especially after all the fuss people made. The only slightly funny scenes were all in the trailer - you didn't need to watch anything else. It was predictable and, frankly, often boring.

I first watched this when I was in Ian's shoes - introvert continually delighted by all the new ideas and art and music and FOOD. Even got the skeptical looks from the prospective in-laws. It was wonderful to see people dealing with all the sometimes absurd sometimes heartbreaking challenges of finding middle ground together with humor and patience. This movie is one of my all time favorites.