Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Featuring a cast of people I'd never heard of (apart from co-star John Corbett, who I knew from Northern Exposure), this movie was one I'd loved in the cinema. Having just watched it again on DVD, I'm glad to say that it has made the journey to the small screen very successfully indeed.
As you may have guessed from the film's title even if you haven't seen it, this film is about a Greek wedding. Toula is a frumpy 30 year-old Greek woman working in the family restaurant wishing her life was different. Her family, and particularly her father (wonderfully played by Michael Constantine) wish that too - except they wish she would get married to a nice Greek boy and produce lots of Greek babies. Her father's favourite game is "give me a word, any word, and I will show you how the origin of the word is Greek, and has brought his crazy mother to live with them - she thinks they're still at war with the Turks...
But Toula persists and changes her life, being given a lesson by her mother along the way that, although the man is the head of the house, it's the woman that controls the head... She changes her image and job, and begins to find real happiness in the form of Ian Miller (John Corbett).
However, he is not a nice Greek boy and all hell breaks loose in the household. As for the rest of the story... well, you'll have to watch it for yourself.
The main reason this works so well on the small screen is that there are no huge stunts or spectacular special effects, the humour is all derived from some pretty sharply observed cultural observations and character development. When I saw it in the cinema, there was a section of the audience in front of us who must have been Greek as they were absolutely wetting themselves laughing at some of the scenes. Okay so the characters are rather stereotyped, but they're funny. The humour runs consistently throughout the film and there are indeed a few belly laughs to be had here.
The film is maybe a little predictable but I did not find that this spoiled my enjoyment of the film. (And let's face it, when I watched it on DVD I already knew the entire storyline...) The ending is definitely sweet enough for us sentimentalists (after all, we are the sort of people who generally watch romantic comedies) with being Saccharine-coated. It has a pretty high replay factor, as it's one of those films you can just sit back and enjoy without any real effort.
The cast does well, I don't know how many of them were actually Greek but they were pretty convincing if they weren't. The scene where the parents (one set of which is, of course, very much NOT Greek) meet one another is very funny, watch out for it.
So there's not really much more I can say. It's funny, sweet, and based on a vaguely original premise (there are millions of comedies based around weddings, but at least this is Greek one!).
May favourite line from the film is delivered by Toula's cousin Nick as last-minute advice on the eve of her wedding(from memory so not word-perfect, I suspect!:
Nick: "Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let your past be part of who you become".
Toula: "That's very deep."
Nick: "Yeah, Aunt Abi's got a lot of wisdom like that".
Er... regarding the above... I'm taking it that he's referring to an agony aunt in the states... if not it could change completely the meaning of those words so if that's the case can someone please let me know!!
Anyway... thanks for taking the time to read this review. Please rate it if you are a member, and if rating less than "Very Helpful" I would appreciate you leaving a comment as to why so that I can improve the review.
As if you need such a thing... but here goes anyway...
Cast List Nia Vardalos ...Toula Portokalos John Corbett ...Ian Miller Lainie Kazan ...Maria Portokalos Michael Constantine ...Gus Portokalos Gia Carides ...Nikki Louis Mandylor ...Nick Portokalos Bess Meisler ...Yiayia Bruce Gray ...Rodney Miller Fiona Reid ...Harriet Miller Ian Gomez ...Mike Jayne Eastwood ...Mrs. White Andrea Martin ...Aunt Voula Joey Fatone ...Angelo Christina Eleusiniotis ...Toula at 6 Kaylee Vieira ...Schoolgirl John Kalangis ...Greek Teacher Marita Zouravlioff ...Toula at 12 Sarah Osman ...Athena at 15 Petra Wildgoose ...Car Pool Friend Melissa Todd ...Car Pool Friend Gerry Mendicino ...Taki Stavroula Logothettis ...Athena Constantine Tsapralis ...Foti Frank Falcone ...Suitor Eugene Martel ...Suitor Joe Persechini ...Suitor Peter Xynnis ...Suitor Anthony Kandiotis ...Priest Nick Kutsukos ...Bouzouki Player Peter Tharos ...Yianni Chrissy Paraskevopoulos ...Cousin Jennie Maria Vacratsis ...Aunt Freida Kathryn Haggis ...Marianthi Gale Garnett ...Lexy Charlene Bitzas ...Nota Chris Savides ...Greek Chanter Constantine Vardalos ...Greek Chanter Scott Khouri ...Waiter John Tsifliklis ...Wedding Singer Peter Chalkiopoulos ...Wedding Band Member Peter Gogos ...Wedding Band Member Spiro Milankou ...Wedding Band Member Victor Politis ...Wedding Band Member Jim Rouvas ...Wedding Band Member Arielle Sugarman ...Paris
A Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek guy and her family learns to accept their new family member before their upcoming nuptials.More at HotMovieSale.com
Toula Portokalos is a quiet, devoted daughter in a big, hectic, crazy Greek family. Working at her father s restaurant, Dancing Zorba s, she hides beh...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.