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'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' bring big, fat fun
By Sarah Leer
Contributing Reviewer

Picture a table of beautiful blonde girls looking pristine, perfect and utterly exclusive. Now picture a brunette, slightly stocky with glasses, who sits all by her lonesome, looking less than confident. No, this is not a personal anecdote from my experience in Benson; it’s one of the opening scenes in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the surprise box office hit of the summer.

The above is a description of a flashback in the life of Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos), the film’s protagonist, and it is a perfect example for anyone who has ever felt that his or her heritage is not so much a blessing as a burdensome, glaring neon sign.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding also stars the decidedly non-Greek John Corbett (Sex and the City’s Aidan) as Ian Miller, Toula’s love interest and the groom in the actual wedding at the end. (Sorry to ruin it for you, but it’s like telling you that in Titanic the boat sinks). Corbett shines as a sincere, accommodating man who will do anything in order to gain her family’s approval.

This romantic comedy, produced by Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, is based on Vardalos’ one-woman show. From beginning to end it is one of the most unique films I have seen.

Vardalos is an atypical 30-year-old who feels immense pressure from her family to marry and become a Greek baby-producing machine, like her "perfect" sister. Her decision to take college classes rocks the family, yet they – especially her mother, played by Lainie Kazan – are continually supportive and loving.

Vardalos’ relationship with Corbett is a definite deviation from the norm – so much so that the couple is practically engaged before Toula even tells her family about him. With a loud, part-Jewish family myself, I understood exactly how she felt.

Wedding has garnered the abhorred "chick flick" distinction, but this movie is for men and women alike. Vardalos’ witty remarks and impeccable timing will start anyone rolling in the aisles. As a writer, she ranks with Eugene Levy of Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show fame, but with the sentimentality of Nora Ephron (You’ve Got Mail).

Andrea Martin as Aunt Voula comes dangerously close to stealing the show. Nosy, loud and overbearing, she deems herself the Millers’ official guide to Greek culture. She urges the elder Millers to drink several rounds of ouzo and insists on preparing a lamb dinner for Ian, who is a vegetarian.

This film peeks into Greek culture and the Greek Orthodox Church with a smile and a gentle ribbing of traditional, patriarchal families. But the film isn’t merely a cultural exploration; it is the story of a loving family with its own prejudices and idiosyncrasies. With minor adjustments, the story could apply to any family.

Follow Ian and Toula as they grapple with hideous bridesmaids’ dresses, a stubborn father and wedding invitations emblazoned with the Greek flag; but the wedding isn’t the point of the movie.

With a look at the love binding families together, My Big Fat Greek Wedding will appeal to anyone who was snubbed by the cool kids, has a mother bent on feeding anyone who crosses her threshold, or whose family is just plain weird.