Review of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) by Spangle — 26 Aug 2017

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.