By Courtney L. Woods
Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) suffers with her family, her heritage, and what her family and her heritage expects her to become; a good Greek girl. Living up to this standard requires her marrying a Greek man and having a large brood of children. At age thirty, she finds herself trapped in working at her family’s Greek resturant a(aptly titled “Dancing Zorbas”), unmarried, and ultimately wanting more in her life. Not much has changed since she was a “swarthy six year-old with sideburns.”
Her parents are extremely proud of being Greek; their house resembles the Parthenon from the outside, complete with the Greek flag tiled on the garage door. Her mother Maria (Lainie Kazan) is a proud mother who cooks more food than necessary and is the comforting presence in the family; not to mention the buffer between Toula and her father, Gus (Michael Constantine). He believes every word has a Greek translation and origin and that Windex is a universal cure-all. He wants to marry Toula off to any Greek man that will have her and is ultimately against women seeking higher education.
Toula goes against his wishes and goes to college. She begins working at her aunt’s travel agency where she meets Ian Miller (John Corbett, known mostly for playing Aidan on “Sex and the City”), a high school teacher who falls in love with Toula. Of course there is one problem; Ian isn’t Greek and her father is against her marrying him. Ian adores Toula so much that he agrees to convert to the Orthodox faith so they can be married in her church. What ensues is a hilarious march to the altar, complete with heinous powder blue bridesmaids dresses and a Greek grandmother (who doesn’t speak any English) that has been trying to run away for the past twenty years and has been foiled every time.
Nia Vardalos has written an out-of-the-ordinary romantic comedy about a woman who wants more out of life, but also comes to grips with her family and heritage. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is the independent word-of-mouth film of the year, thanks to strong reviews and Tom Hanks as producer. Vardalos also does a good job with her character, Toula, whom the audience just can’t help but root for. Also featured in the film is N’Sync’s Joey Fatone as Toula’s cousin Angelo. Don’t let the fact he is in the film hinder you from seeing it. He has a really small role; and let’s face it: isn’t he the less irritating of the bunch?
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is the little movie that could. It is playing at small theaters across the country ( in Louisville it is playing at Baxter Avenue). With all the over-exposure most films get, it is refreshing to see a quality movie that is not over-hyped by a press juggernaut. People like it, so they tell their friends how good it is. Now it’s time for you to do your job, now that you’ve heard the good news.
CARDINAL GRADE: B+
