My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone
Directed by: Joel Zwick
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A Greek woman (Nia Vardalos) falls in love with a non-Greek man (John Corbett), which complicates matters with her family when they decide to get married.

Review:

Tim: My Big Fat Greek Wedding was the sleeper hit of 2002. Despite the fact that it never hit #1 at the box office, the movie managed to make $241 million. That is astonishing. This was the romantic comedy that everyone was talking about- and going to see multiple times. You'd think that with the box office take and the general positive buzz, this would be a great movie. Unfortunately, the truth is that it's far from it. This is a one-note comedy that doesn't deliver. It is vastly overrated, and I am quite frankly shocked it made so much money. This is not a movie I enjoyed very much.

The film relies far too much on the "We're very Greek, isn't it hilarious?" shtick. This can certainly be mined for some laughs, but the movie overly relies on this one aspect for comedy. Perhaps very Greek families will find the movie hilarious, but the constant Greek jokes get old for more diverse audiences. The movie relied on the same jokes over and over again- the Windex and the Greek root of every word for example. They may have been funny the first time, but by the end of the film, we get it. I think the only time I laughed during the entire film was when Nia Vardalos yanks back because she forgets she has a headset on. That, or the old grandmother getting sprayed by the sprinklers. These are both sight gags. The movie truly is not very funny at all.

I really did not get the relationship between Nia Vardalos and John Corbett. At one point, they try to explain why they make such a good couple, but I didn't think they had great chemistry on screen. Why did Corbett first fall for her? This aspect of the film is never really explained or explored. I'm not saying I want everything spoonfed to me, but I did not feel there was a strong basis for their relationship. It felt forced throughout the film. Corbett's character goes to extreme lengths for his future wife, but what was the motivation behind it? He's just the perfect guy? It all seemed a little too cliched and Hollywood to me. I thought Vardalos and Corbett were fine in their roles, but neither did much to impress me.

If you take away the zany Greek angle, this movie has almost nothing to stand on. Whenever the story slows to a lull (and believe me, it does), the answer is always- "Look at the crazy Greeks and the crazy Greek things they do!" It just felt insulting to me, as if this alone was enough to sustain a comedy.

I know I'm pretty harsh with this movie, but I think it's ridiculous how much this movie made at the box office when I simply don't see the quality to back it up (and it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay- are you kidding me?). This was the movie everyone was talking about in 2002, but talk is about all this movie has. I really thought it was just an average, forgettable romantic comedy. Without the acclaim and success, this isn't a movie I would have ever given a second thought. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a massively overrated movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



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