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"My
Big Fat Greek Wedding"
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By Mira Harber
Here's a movie where the characters are normal looking people, the American
Dream comes true and we're all happy to have witnessed the fairy tale as
it played out. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the story of a Greek girl Toula
Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) who is about 30 years old, unmarried, and definitely
living in the frumpy stage of life. She works at Dancing Zorbas, the family
restaurant, and one day Ian Miller, (John Corbett) a very un-Greek man
comes to the restaurant. Toula is instantly smitten and Ian thinks that
Toula is pretty funny and interesting.
They begin
to date, much to the consternation of their respective families. No-one
in Toula's family has ever dated a non-Greek. When Ian's mother brings
a bundt cake to a family dinner, nobody knows what it is - they've never
seen one before!
What a
great change from the usual Hollywood fantasy. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
reminds me of another recent movie about a wedding, the Indian film Monsoon
Wedding. With both of these films I left the theater feeling happy and
with a great big smile on my face. I wanted to be Greek or Indian - part
of one of those big extended family cultures where everybody talks at once,
the volume is set on loud, and you feel ALIVE. This is why I think people
are responding so well to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The characters aren't
impossibly glamourous, nothing blows up, not a terrorist for miles. Instead
we have a movie with heart.
There
are some hilarious supporting characters in this gigantic extended family.
Toula's aunt (played by SC-TV comedian Andrea Marten) has one of the funniest
lines in the movie. When told that Ian is a vegetarian, her aunt reponds
with "That's OK. I'll make lamb". Toula's dad Gus (Michael Constantine)
looks for the Greek root in all words, including kimono, and even Miller.
According to Dad, Miller comes from the Greek word for apple, Portokalos
for orange and so he comes to the happy conclusion that "in the end, we're
all fruits".
This really
is a feel good movie, and if you haven't seen it yet and want a guaranteed
smile and a warm feeling in the region of your heart, My Big Fat Greek
Wedding is the ticket. |
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