Bigger, Fatter, and Oh So Greek

Back in 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding hit the world by storm. . . and when all was said and done, it became the top grossing romantic comedy of all-time (without ever being number one at the box office). It told the story of an intensely smothering yet loving Greek family living in Chicago by way of our lead and voice over narrator Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos – who wrote the story and got an Academy Award nomination for her effort). The plain and slightly nerdy woman, who works at her parents’ restaurant and cannot seem to find love, sets us up for a feel good story that combines the concept of finding love in the most unexpected places with a positive spin on Greek-American stereotypes that hit right on the mark.

Toula is, at the beginning of the film, the counterpoint to the rest of her family. She is not married and does not have children which, in turn, means that she is not fulfilling her true destiny; feeding and caring for her family for the rest of her life. To distance herself from her overbearing relatives, she begins to take computer classes in the hopes that she will be able to extricate herself from working at the family restaurant (Dancing Zorba’s) – these actions give her some confidence, inspiring her to have a much-needed make over and shed her dated glasses for contact lenses. With some help from her mother Maria (Lainie Kazan) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin), she is able to convince her father Gus (Michael Constantine) that she should work at her aunt’s travel agency instead.

It is here that she catches the eye of the hip and totally not Greek Ian Miller (John Corbett) – leading to a relationship that does not impress her Greek-loving papa. Eventually, as these things go, Ian earns the respect of the Hellenic family – getting baptized in a Greek Orthodox Church so that the two will be able to marry. Though there are a few wrinkles that need some ironing out, the couple wed in what can only be described by the film’s title.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a lot of fun. Vardalos perfectly captures the culture clash that happens between the overbearing Greek culture and the much more subdued and private American perspective. This is no better encapsulated than when Ian’s parents, Rodney (Bruce Gray) and Harriet (Fiona Reid), come to visit the Portokalos family with a bundt cake, which due to having no center, is not at all understood by the clan – and they place a potted plant to fill the hole. The tricks played on Ian by cousins Nick (Louis Mandylor) and Angelo (Joey Fatone), that surround Greek phrases, is more than hilarious and also demonstrates the comedy that comes from the cultural divide. In the end, we are left with a light-hearted, coming of (almost middle) age story of a woman who manages to find love while also coping with her traditional roots and upbringing.

Now, what can be said about the sequel? I must say that it is a prototypical second offering that finds a lame excuse for a story – with Toula having to deal with her teenaged daughter heading off to college while she also tries to bring her family back together after they discover that her parents are not officially married (as the priest did not sign the wedding certificate back in the day).

Critics have not been overly kind to this picture. Though perhaps justified, the characters in this film make me feel differently about this seemingly unnecessary movie. It is something like a family reunion. We may complain about the costs, the drive, or the familial chaos, yet when we get there we find love, laughter and comfort in seeing those recognizable faces that we have not seen nearly enough of over the last several years. Though we hear the same stories (that may have been exaggerated a bit over time) and see gags that have changed just a smidgen, we feel at home with our own kooky kin. It is the same with this motion picture. There is nothing very fresh here and it may lack a bit of a purpose, but if you enjoyed the comedy and characters found in the original, you will be hard-pressed not to fall for this sweet movie that is as tasty as moosekaka. . . sorry, I mean moussaka.

As mentioned above, there is not much new in this second offering, though after fourteen years it is amazing to see the entire cast back together – a truly impressive feat. And the colourful ensemble haven’t missed a beat, with Michael Constantine’s Gus still being the proud and forceful Greek patriarch (who now worries that his seventeen year old granddaughter does not have a Hellenic boyfriend yet, and has trained his two young grandsons in the art of finding the Greek root of any English word), while Andrea Martin’s Aunt Voula is still a scene-stealer. Plus, there is something more than entertaining about the stealthily quiet great-grandmother Mana-Yiayia (Bess Meisler), who is still as eccentric as ever, but has mellowed around her family since the original. Newcomer Elena Kampouris, who plays Toula and Ian’s headstrong daughter Paris, must also be mentioned. She captures the essence of what a teenaged girl would feel like when surrounded by the suffocating love and powerful hold of the Portokalos family (dealing with many of the same issues her mother did in the original, but as a teenager). John Stamos and Rita Wilson appear in a few scenes as a Greek couple new to the city, while Mark Margolis takes up the role of Gus’ embittered brother from Greece, and Rob Riggle has a funny cameo as a Northwestern rep who must deal with the gargantuan extended family as Paris looks at going to the University.

For those of you who enjoyed the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you will surely find something to like in this sequel. It sticks to the same formula (perhaps too much) while allowing the characters that won our hearts in the original to do the same in this motion picture. Right now, I can hear Gus explaining why you should watch both of these films, as, ‘cine’ is the Greek word for motion, which is where the word cinema came from. And don’t you know the Greek’s created movies, so that is why you must see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 1 and 2. OPA!!