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intereact!Director: Joel Zwick
Actors: Nia Vardalos, Michael Constantine, John Corbett, Christina Eleusiniotis, and Kaylee Vieira
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Retail Price (not our price): $12.98
Release Date: 2003-02-11
Theatrical Release Date: 2002-08-02
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Run Time: 95 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Product Description
Toula is 30. And unmarried. Which means as a nice Greek girl -- she's a failure. All her cousins did the right thing -- married Greek boys and made Greek babies. So everyone worries: what will become of Toula? Then one day she sees the ultimate unattainable guy and realizes the only way her life will get better is if he gets away from her big fat Greek family. Toula escapes from the family restaurant. She exchanges her seating hostess jacket for a college diploma convinces her aunt to give her a new job and trades in her coke-bottle glasses for contact lenses just in time for "him" to walk back into her life. Ian Miller is tall handsome but defnitely not Greek. Their courtship is an Olympian culture clash. Can Ian handle Toula her parents her aunts uncles cousins and several centuries of Greek heritage? Will Toula discover the love she's been missing right in the heart of her big fat family? One thing is for sure for better or worse for richer or poorer with Ian's proposal Toula is headed for her big fat Greek wedding.Running Time: 95 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 026359199325 Manufacturer No: 919932) Amazon.com
It's not surprising that My Big Fat Greek Wedding grew more popular over the course of its theatrical release (whereas most blockbusters open big and then drop precipitously)--not only does it have believable situations and engaging characters, but these characters (particularly our romantic heroine, Toula, played by writer and performer Nia Vardalos) look like actual human beings instead of plastic movie stars. The result is the very accessible tale of Greek-American Toula (whose family sees her as over the hill at 30), who falls for a WASPy guy named Ian (John Corbett) and then has to endure the outrage, doubt, and ultimate acceptance of her deeply ethnically centered family. The actors invest their wildly stereotypical portrayals with sincerity and compassion, giving the movie an honest warmth instead of Hollywood schmaltz. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding ultimately succeeds because of Vardalos; her intelligent, down-to-earth presence and charm carry the film. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
1) Great Family entertainment...and I do mean FAMILY [Rating: 5 out of 5]
First...Ignore the idiotic negative reviews about how simplistic and stereotypical this film is. Those elements are the pillars of its appeal. Although the family in question is Greek, you could easily insert Jewish, Italian, Hispanic, etc. I refused to see this movie when it first came out even though urged to do so by my parents. I thought it would be a melodramatic waste of time and money. I recently was "trapped" into seeing it on a cruise ship by my friends. Upon return home, I ordered the DVD. This is a very funny and satisfying film.2) 442 Five Star Reviews -- and counting! [Rating: 5 out of 5]
No! It's not Shakespeare! (By the way, do you know he was Greek?) But, it sure is one of the funniest, most heart-warming movies I've seen in years. If you are Greek, Italian, German, Irish or Anything, you will see something of your family in this film. More importantly, it will leave you with a feeling of hope for the world, because we all share these family relationships in one way or another.Yet another reason My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of the best feel-good movies around is that it pokes fun at the characters and their relationships without a touch of nastiness or venom.This movie absolutely belongs in every family's DVD collection.3) Lovely [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I'm often reluctant to watch movies that every one has recommended. Whenever I see one, it usually fails to live up to the hype. So only now I got to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I'm so glad I did. This is a wonderful comedy, both funny (something that many so-called comedies fail to be) and touching, about cultural differences and how love and family conquer all.4) One big fat good time... (Was that too obvious?) [Rating: 4 out of 5]
`My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is not necessarily `laugh-out-loud' funny but it is funny. I think that all the hype surrounding this film killed it for me the first time I saw it. It just was not the laugh-riot I was promised. Now, a few years later, I watched it again for the second time with my wife (one of the ones who over-hyped the film when it was released). With the hype dead and my initial response to the film a vague memory I can honestly say that the second time around was much more rewarding. `My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is sweet and sentimental and leaves the viewer with that warm and fuzzy feeling we don't get much anymore. It just feels right from start to finish. It's not like it's anything all that `new' to the genre. Think `Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' with Greeks and Jews. Despite the `familiarity' it still feels refreshing because it's not your typical comedy. It's a little more inviting than the average comedy.This feeling of warm invitation is due to the films star (and author) Nia Vardalos, the most unlikely of romantic leads. I think that's another draw to this film is that the stars look and act like real people (okay, they may act a little stranger than `real' people, but that's half the fun) as apposed to looking like Jessica Alba. Vardalos plays Toula Portokalos, a thirty-something Greek girl who is still single, slightly overweight and gawky. In the eyes of her family she's somewhat of a failure. Toula decides that she is finally going to take her life into her own hands instead of living the life her father has set before her. That is when she meets Ian, a handsome Jewish man that is everything she's ever dreamed of and everything her family would never condone.Nia Vardalos captures the downtrodden Toula perfectly, drawing the audience into her troubles, always remaining that sweet girl we want to see end up happy. John Corbett is effective as Ian, handsome and genuine. We understand why Toula loves him so much. Lainie Kazan plays Toula's mother with such genuine warmth she'll have you wishing that she were your mother, and Michael Constantine does a great job of making his eccentric and overbearing father come across understandable and likable. To me though, and just about every other person I speak to, the standout here is non other than Andrea Martin who steals the show with her comedic timing. Her whole `twin' scene makes this movie worthy of your DVD library.`My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is truly a lovely film. If you were anything like me and expected so much that you were disappointed the first go around I urge you to give this one another try. Its warmth and genuine free spirit make `My Big Fat Greek Wedding' not the funniest comedy out there but one of the most likable.5) All Time Favorite [Rating: 5 out of 5]
What a pleasing little film! I have seen it now half a dozen times. Each time I enjoy it as much as the first time. It is a delight. The acting is fine, of course, but finally it is the writing. The script is fantastic, a work of genius. What is so great is the author's ability to catch at each turn those little, tiny moments that say so much. The running gag over the Windex, for example, is hilarious, especially when the WASP groom takes it up. It shows the new connection between the father and son-in-law, while obviously just being silly. The film takes up a classic fish-out-of-water plot but, by emphasizing the cross-cultural connection, the story seems fresh and new. Both families are priceless. The characterization is so finely tuned, so accurate and true to character. Take the aunt, for instance: how funny she is when Toula's soon-to-be- husband announces that he is a vegetarian. "You don't eat no meat?" she says with some astonishment. Then: "OK. I'll make lamb." There are running gags, but also deep themes such as self-discovery, love, loyalty, and so on. The mother's heart to heart with Toula in the bedroom brought tears to my eyes. It is a deep movie, but light-hearted, inspiring, and loads of fun.