X
- 2002
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 35 m
- 2002
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 35 m
Summary A romantic comedy based on the one-woman show written by and starring "Second City" alumna Nia Vardalos.
Directed By: Joel Zwick
Written By: Nia Vardalos
- 2002
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 35 m
- 2002
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 35 m
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
62
7.3
Where to Watch
Summary A romantic comedy based on the one-woman show written by and starring "Second City" alumna Nia Vardalos.
Directed By: Joel Zwick
Written By: Nia Vardalos
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
62
59% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
38% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
62
59% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
38% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
3% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Like Vardalos and Corbett, who play their roles with vibrant charm, the film, directed by Joel Zwick, is heartfelt and hilarious in ways you can't fake. It's a keeper.
Delivers a sugar rush without the calories.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 74 User Ratings
7.3
72% Positive
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
26% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 74 User Ratings
7.3
72% Positive
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
26% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a great movie with a great cast. There are some silly moments however,but Nia Vardalos did worse in I Hate Valentine's Day!
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It's a buoyant comedy with more warmth and generosity of spirit than anything else in theaters right now.
There's such a good-natured heart beating beneath the cliches that it's easy to appreciate the film's willingness to poke gentle fun without a whiff of nastiness or judgment.
Suffers in ways typical to such adaptations -- what was fresh and flavorful in anecdotal description becomes more familiar and sitcom broad in literal depiction.
I enjoyed parts of "Wedding," and I'm not about to tell people that they should not have enjoyed it. I'm just afraid that Hollywood will respond to its success by making many more sitcoms in the guise of movies. [23 Sept 2002, p. 98]
The wedding, which turns the very concept of ''Greek'' into the sort of hideous, pandering clichés that look rejected from bad Jewish and Italian sitcoms.
What's wrong with an intercultural marriage? What makes this romantic comedy attractive is how it solves that question and with a lot of style, without clichés that smell of corny. To see with no more pretense than to have fun and learn what other practical uses the window cleaning liquid has.
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Playing out like a sitcom, complete with musical transitions between scenes, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of those unexpected box office smashes that became a bit of a cultural touchstone. Written by and starring Nia Vardalos as 30-year-old Greek virgin who is expected to find a nice Greek boy to marry and have kids, the film is an uproariously funny work with sharp wit and great cultural jokes about Toula's (Vardalos) painfully large and Greek family. With a wedding around the corner to American white boy Ian Miller (John Corbett), the Greek family behind Toula must grow to accept this non-Greek into the family over the course of the film's 90 minutes, all while celebrating their Greek heritage throughout. Though perhaps not a great piece of filmmaking, My Big Fat Greek Wedding shows that two things are true: real life is often funny enough on its own and writing what you know yields phenomenal results when done right.
As a comedy about a wedding and an obnoxious family, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is not exactly a deep work. There are some light themes that emerge, but they seem to just pop up out of the circumstances shown in the film, instead of any actual purposeful intent. For example, themes about assimilating into a culture you are unfamiliar with or having to accept the unfamiliar person into your world are both discussed at length due to Ian joining the family, but these are hardly major developments or revelations. Plus, as a comedy, this fish-out-of-water element is played more for comedy than any semblance of thematic nuance. That is not an issue, mind you, but this is certainly not a film with a lot of substance. Rather, it is one that exists purely to entertain and make you laugh, which makes it a tough film review to rate. At which point does one recognize there are faults in this film - the televisual feel that is pervasive in the film and the bad acting, namely - and still recognize that the film nailed all of its stated goals.
Personally, I prefer to head towards the latter when it comes to films such as this. Consistently funny, smarted scripted, and capable of making fun of a culture in the way that only those who are a part of that culture can, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is an absolutely hysterical film. It is one of those few films that nails jokes throughout with no sign of letting up. Often times, these joke-a-minute films start to lose steam at a certain point, but this never does by retaining the same wit throughout, as well as the correct running gags (Windex). As a romance film, the "meet cute" moments are cliche to be sure, but still effective in putting a big, goofy smile on your face. It is a cheesy and sugary romance, but rings with authenticity and realism due to the problems faced by this cute couple in advancing their relationship to marriage. Never overstaying its welcome with the comedy or the romance, the short runtime allows the best moments of both to stay in with the film feeling rather stream-lined and focused, never straying into subplots or bloat that could have rendered it a far worse film.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a quintessential example of using the romantic comedy formula to your advantage with a funny, smart, and cheesily romantic work. It may be predictable and cliche, but it shows why those cliches became cliches in the first place. A charmer from beginning to end, the film is a guiltless pleasure.
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A creative and imaginative film which truly stands the test of time. The love between Tula and Ian is so real and heart-warming that it makes this comedy all the more worthwhile to watch.
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i really like this film. it has some really funny moments which will resinate well with people who have regularly visited or lived in Greece. it's not perfect by any means as some of it is slightly grating and i would be lying if i said it didn't fall in to quite a few Romantic Comedy clichés but i'll take it over a lot of those film because it feels like it has a personal charm to it and some excellent jokes . it's also well acted for the most part especially Michael Constantine who gives an excellent and believable performance
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The script by Nia Vardalos who also stars in this, is very funny and manages to get a few chuckles but personally I thought the humor here is cheap, it's charming not to mention has a big heart also Vardalos has good chemistry with her co-star John Corbett. Nia Vardalos stars also wrote the script, anyway she plays Toula, she's thirty and works at her family's restaurant Dancing Zorba's owned by her two Greek parents Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan). Her family worries that she won't be married. After she takes a job at her aunt's travel agency she falls in love with Ian Miller (John Corbett) a teacher, who's tall and handsome but not Greek, which makes her dad angry because everyone in the family is married to someone who's Greek but not Toula. 3 out of 5 stars
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Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Nominations
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Satellite Awards
• 2 Wins & 5 Nominations
