Plot
One woman's rocky road to the altar gets played for laughs in this comedy, adapted from the one-woman off-Broadway show written by and starring Nia Vardalos. Toula (Vardalos) is a Greek-American woman who is in her early thirties and single, with no immediate prospects of changing that status any time soon. This bothers Toula a bit, but not half as much as it distresses her mother (Lainie Kazan) and father (Michael Constantine), who want to send her to Greece in hopes of finding a husband in the old country. Toula isn't interested in leaving the country to find a man, but since she works in the family business -- a Greek restaurant in Chicago called Dancing Zorba's -- she has to hear about it whether she likes it or not. One day, after seeing a handsome stranger in the restaurant and not having the courage to talk to him, Toula decides she needs a bit of self-improvement. Despite her dad's misgivings, Toula signs up for a night-school class studying computers, trades in her glasses for contact lenses, gets a different job at a travel agency, and spruces herself up with a new look and a new attitude. To her very pleasant surprise, she once again encounters the handsome stranger, who soon asks her out on a date. Schoolteacher Ian Miller (John Corbett) is seemingly perfect -- he's tall, handsome, smart, good-natured, and soon in love with Toula -- except for two little things: he's not Greek, and he's a vegetarian, both of which horrify Toula's family. When Ian pops the question (and Toula says yes), the bride-to-be has to negotiate a reasonably peaceful meeting between Ian's upper-class parents and her own working-class extended family. There's also the matter of the wedding, which Toula's mother is planning around the notion that quantity IS quality. My Big Fat Greek Wedding also features Ian Gomez (Vardalos' real-life husband), Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin, and Joey Fatone (from the pop group *NSYNC). Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson helped produce the film through the auspices of their production company, Playtone. ~ Mark Deming, RoviReview
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a modest, likeable comedy, would have been less effective if it had been put through the Hollywood system. Nia Vardalos's script has enough Hollywood convention in it that having a newcomer in the lead automatically brings to it a freshness that a romantic comedy superstar like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock would have had a difficult time mustering. There is no cynicism in the film, which may make it difficult for some viewers to take. Vardalos and the rest of the performers seem genuinely amused by the clichéd scenarios and the familiar bits of comedic business they are given to play. They either find new ways to make the material work, or simply radiate goodwill toward each other and the audience to such an extent that the audience reciprocates. Maintaining a charming ease for its entire ninety-five minute running time, Vardalos and her cast desire nothing but the commendable goal of entertaining their audience. This is an unabashedly warm and friendly film that was seemingly made for all the right reasons. ~ Perry Seibert, RoviCast
- Nia Vardalos - Toula
- John Corbett - Ian Miller
- Michael Constantine - Gus
- Lainie Kazan - Maria
- Andrea Martin - Aunt Voula
Credit
Kei Ng - Art Director, Thomas Hayek - Boom Operator, Liberman/Patton Casting - Casting, Robin D. Cook - Casting, Kostas Petsis - Choreography, Nancy Vardalos Ginakes - Choreography, David Coatsworth - Co-producer, Michael Clancy - Costume Designer, David McAree - First Assistant Director, Grant Lucibello - First Assistant Director, Joel Zwick - Director, Mia Goldman - Editor, Paul Brooks - Executive Producer, Steven Shareshian - Executive Producer, Norm Waitt - Executive Producer, Beatriz Salazar - Hair Styles, Sandra Reynolds - Hair Styles, John M. Kenyon - Location Manager, Chris Wilson - Composer (Music Score), Alexander Janko - Composer (Music Score), Deva Anderson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Dorota Zajac - Makeup, Burton J. LeBlanc - Makeup, Andy Chmura - Camera Operator, Gregory Keen - Production Designer, Jeffrey Jur - Cinematographer, Rita Wilson - Producer, Gary Goetzman - Producer, Tom Hanks - Producer, Thomas Graham - Recording, Enrico Campana - Set Designer, Tom Mather - Sound Mixer, Martin Malivoire - Special Effects Supervisor, David Coatsworth - Unit Production Manager, Nia Vardalos - Screenwriter, Thomas J. Tobin - Production Assistant, David Zikovitz - Production Assistant, Marsha Robertson - Unit Publicist, John Nelles - Dialogue Coach, John Colavecchia - First Assistant Camera, Michael Galbraith - Gaffer, Rod Benjamin - Key Grip, Alex Gibson - Music Editor, Isabel Henderson - Post Production Supervisor, JoAnne Rivers - Production Coordinator, Alan Doucette - Properties Master, Geoffrey G. Rubay - Re-Recording Mixer, Melissa Hofmann - Re-Recording Mixer, Daniela Saioni - Script Supervisor, Grant Lucibello - Second Assistant Director, Geoffrey G. Rubay - Sound Effects Director, Keith Murphy - Steadicam Operator, Sophie Giraud - Still Photographer, Paul Timothy Carden - Supervising Sound Editor, Dean Drabin - ADR Mixer, Tami Treadwell - ADR Recordist, Wayne Wightman - Assistant Art Director, Jay Duboisson - Assistant Costume Designer, Don Cornelius - Assistant Location Manager, Lesia Capone - Assistant Production Coordinator, Imre de Jonge - Assistant Properties, Katia de Peña - Buyer, Lisa Ystrom - Casting Associate, Elizabeth Gray - Casting Associate, Mark Thomson - Construction Coordinator, Nicholas M. Bacon - Dolly Grip, Zamaret Kleiman - Extra Casting, Paul Holzborn - Foley Artist, Paul Elliot - Key Hairstylist, Ann Brodie - Key Make-up, Gary G. Harmer - Leadman, Greg Eby - Production Accountant, Rossana Campo - Scenic Artist, Cylvan Desrouleaux - Second Assistant Camera, Brenton Brown - Set Dresser, Lara McMahon - Set Production Assistant, J. R. Powell - Set Production Assistant, Jim Milio - Co-Executive Producer, Melissa Peltier - Co-Executive Producer, Mark Hufnail - Co-Executive Producer, Nia Vardalos - Play Author, Heather Persons - Co-Editor| My Big Break (2009 Film), My Best Girl (1927 Film) | |
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