Rating: Summary: Great movie, poor DVD Review: Nia Vardalos is a veteran comedienne from the Second City group in Chicago. This film is a catharsis of sorts, as only a gifted comedienne can present: growing up as one of the few Greek girls in Winnepeg, surrounded by blonde Anglos and Ukrainians, she undoubtedly felt left out and turned to comedy to be accepted.This film is beautifully performed and written. Vardalos herself plays the heroine, Toula, who is painfully shy and somewhat downtrodden, living in the shadow of an older, "perfect sister." When she decides to make something of herself - by going to college and specialising in "Computers in the Travel Industry," she is noticed by a typical white-bread American, Ian Miller. The movie follows their courtship with special emphasis on the contrast between Toula's Greek and Ian's WASP families. Of course, since this is a comedy, everything is exaggerated - Ian's parents are stiff and reserved to a fault, while Toula's house is filled with 50 relatives at any given time. There is also some fun inter-generational humour, as Toula (and her brother) try to break free of the old-world mold of their parents. Some of the funniest moments are Toula's father lamenting that her over-education led her astray (i.e. into the arms of a non-Greek). Although such a description implies there is an undercurrent of racism (or, at least, ethnic chauvenism), the movie is never mean-spirited. In fact, it's almost naive in its good-naturedness, in that everyone ends up getting along and the two families come together wonderfully. If only real life were as life-affirming as this film! It is family film in that it is funny, warm-hearted, and contains no unsuitable material, although I suspect younger children will find the plot boring and not get most of the jokes. Unfortunately, this DVD version is not up to the standards of the film. The commentary, mostly by Vardalos, is interesting and points out a number of true-to-life events that were incorporated into the film, in addition to pointing out various friends and family members that appear in the film. However, there are no cut scenes, no documentaries, etc. Worse still, there are something like 7 ads for other movies at the beginning of the film, that you have to manually skip - this is a sure-fire way to anger your audience before the film even starts. Finally, on top of all that, the box promises both widescreen and pan-and-scan, but the disc I saw only seems to have P&S, which I hate. You only get to see 2/3 of the movie that way!
Rating: Summary: A fun, happy movie; what's wrong with THAT????? Review: I can't imagine how anyone would sit down to watch this film would do so with the expectation of serious "conflict", serious consequences, or, for that matter, ANYTHING other than pure entertainment. And THAT, my friends, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING has in abundance. I don't know whether or not the family is exaggerated, but I DO know that they reminded me of my next door neighbors-- people who always invite us over when they are having a party or barbeque or whatever and always look out for us because, as they always tell us, "You're FAMILY." My husband and I are white and our neighbors are Mexican. Am I making my point here? I did not find Toula's family abrasive in the least because there was not a mean-spirited bone to be had in ANY of them-- just a lot of love. How many families can be that demonstrative and involved with one another? This is a BAD thing? And as for Toula's "transformation," one reviewer complained that it seemed to happen overnight, which leads me to think (a) the reviewer missed the scenes where she tries makeup, goes to class, changes her hair, goes to class, starts making friends in class, gets contacts, etc. or (b) wanted something to complain about. As for Ian's parents, yes, many people ARE that tight-assed (pardon my French), and yes, alcohol CAN transform them into fun people. But enough about my mother;-)! Bottom line? This is a happy movie, a JOYFUL movie, and THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! The ONLY reasons I gave it 4 stars were (a) a lack of extras on the DVD (only a commentary track; what, no behind-the-scenes, perhaps footage of her one-woman show, mini docu about her family/Greek families in general etc. etc.?) and (b) the fact that IS light entertainment, not a classic by any means, which is pretty much what I reserve the 5 stars for. I think it was Roger Ebert who uses the criterion of "What is the movie trying to do/say, and how well does it do/say it?" What does the movie ASPIRE to be, and does it accomplish it? MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING aspires to be a nice, happy movie, and it does it by having characters we care about and dialogue that doesn't insult our intelligence. And that's a hell of a lot more than most of today's movies. RELISH it.
Rating: Summary: The Best Way To Lean About Greeks Review: This is a Fantastic Movie. The Music to This Movie is Great. I was Surprised to See a Song on the Sound Track Called "Mouse CaCa". This Movie Starts Out With the Chracter Toula Who's a 30 Year Old With a Boring Life and Who is Often Re-fered To as "Old" by Her father. and she Helps Out With the family Restourant "Dancing Zorbas". She wants to change her Life by Wanting to Go to College So She Does That By Telling Her Father About How the Family Restourant is Over Ordering and How the Restourant Could Use a Computer and Toula Says to her father That She Could Go to College and Take Some Computer Courses and her Father Replys With "Why Do You Want to Leave Me". Well Im Gonna Leave it At That. You'll Gonna have to See What Happens Next. So go and Buy the Movie in Either V.H.S or DVD form. also think About Purchasing the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding Sound-Track" As Well. There you Can Learn About Greek Mousic.
Rating: Summary: "You'll never go broke underestimating the etcetera..." Review: As a purported romantic comedy, this unimaginative slog fails on all counts. There's no "meet-cute", there's no dramatic conflict, there's isn't even a character arc. What there is, however, is 90 minutes of cheap, weak Greek stereotypes recycled from some justifiably forgotten sitcom. The whole exercise is inoffensive and mild to the point of mild offense. Of your two grandmas, the dimwitted one will love it.
Rating: Summary: GrEaT mOvIe Review: This movie is so funny! At first I didnt want to see it but I am so glad that I finally did. People can relate to this movie, everyone has a family thats different. My family is alot like hers loud, funny, did I mention loud? Anyways this is a great comedy that the whole family can see.
Rating: Summary: Lighten up, people! Review: Ok, so there were no surprises in this movie. Who cares? It was fun! It was entertaining! It was a really good movie! Grab a Coke and a smile and a bunch of gals and have a girl's night in with this movie!
Rating: Summary: boring and stupid! Review: One star is far too much. It' one of the worse film I Ever seen. It's boring, there is no action. The story is stupid too. The actors act very badly. For a comedy it isn't funny. SO DON'T BUY THIS MOVIE, IF NOT YOU WILL WAIST YOUR TIME AND MONEY.
Rating: Summary: Good comedy Review: If you're a movie fanatic like I am, you've gotta see this. Good movie, but I expected a lot more comedy out of it based on everybody else's comments. It's got the really funny parts such as how akward the family is (it seems like everybody has a totally different personality). However it's pretty strong for a PG rated movie, as some scenes suggest sexual relations between an un-married couple. I recommend it for a 12 years & older audience, sadly. However it's very enjoyable for that age group!
Rating: Summary: Great Family Move Review: This movie is very funny and entertianing. You will fall in love for this big fat greek family and wish that you could be part of it. Well maybe not. At least know it.The windex joke was the highlight of the movie for me. YOull want to watch this one more then once.
Rating: Summary: Predictable plot; hilarious dialogue Review: The ending of the movie is very predictable and the story is not very unique: It's a simple story of a thirtysomething woman whose entire family is over-proud of their Grecian heritage. She finally falls in love with someone, but he isn't a "nice Greek boy" like her family wants. And, of course, to keep the girl, he must please the family by following their Grecian ways. Predictable? Yes. Another odd thing about the movie is the father's Windex gag (which is very funny, but I doubt Windex would ever work on real cuts and bruises). Nevertheless, it's a great comedy with plenty of laughs. I'd recommend it not for the story, but for comedy behind it all.
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