This isn't normally the kinda movie I'd go see. I don't like chick flicks, and I avoid them at all costs. Sometimes I see them because I'm dragged to it, but in the case of this movie, it wasn't like that. The reason I decided to see this movie is because it made over $200 million. This small, independent film has made over $200 million to become the highest grossing independent film of all-time. I just had to see what all the fuss was about. It's not like it got a lotta advertising, the reason it's been making so much money is because of the very positive word of mouth it's been getting. So I went and saw "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," the highest grossing independent film of all-time. Now that I've seen it, I'm left wondering, what's the big deal? Yeah, it's cute, it's funny, it's quirky, and it's entertaining, but it's nothing spectacular. In fact, it's really just another predictable romantic comedy. There's absolutely nothing that sets it apart from the countless other romantic comedies.
The way the story goes, Nia Vardalos, who wrote and stars in the film, was an actress at Chicago's Second City where she performed her one-woman play "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It was seen by Rita Wilson (actress and wife of Tom Hanks, and a Greek-American herself), and she convinced her movie star husband that they should produce a feature film based on the play. So they did. Actually, that must be the reason the movie is making so much damn money. Whatever Tom Hanks touches seems to turn to gold, and there's the proof right there.
I'm ripping on the movie, but really, it's a nice, sweet movie that has a certain undeniable charm. It's not a bad movie at all, it's just that there's nothing about it that justifies all the money it's making. Much of the charm comes from it's cast of veteran actors and actresses. Nia Vardalos stars in the film, and like I wrote earlier, she wrote the screenplay which is based on her one-woman show. She's definitely not Hollywood pretty, but that's a good thing. Something I like about the movie is that it seems to be set in the real world, not the Hollywood version of it. Nia Vardalos is a good actress, and despite her non-Hollywood looks, she seems to have no problem carrying the film. I've never seen any of her previous acting, though I know she was in "Team Knight Rider." She's come a long way, right? Actually, her career low must have been when she was the caterer for "Sorority Sluts 3: Spring Break."
Also in the movie is John Corbett, who plays her love interest. He's probably best known as "Aidan" in "Sex and the City," and I think he was in some Ford commercials. He's got an easygoing, seemingly down-to-earth quality about him that makes him instantly likable. As for the members of the big, fat, Greek family, they're played by veteran character actors from movies and TV. Michael Constantine plays the father, Lainie Kazan plays the mother, and Andrea Martin (SCTV alum who has done lotsa voice acting) is one of the many aunts. Out of all of them, Andrea Martin is the one I liked the most. She was just really entertaining in the movie. I don't know why, but Joey Fatone from NSYNC is in the movie. I like NSYNC as much as I like anal bleeding, but he isn't even in the movie long enough to where I can have an opinion on his acting skills.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was directed by Joel Zwick who's directed tons of TV shows, but this is only his second foray into feature film directing. His first was a lame sci-fi comedy called "Second Sight." I guess he did a decent job directing the film, but it did have a TV-Movie feel to it, and that's not something you should get from a feature film. That may help in the long run, though, since they may be doing a TV show based on the film (I believe the name is supposed to be "My Big Loud Greek Family," but I could be wrong). The script was written by Nia Vardalos, and this is her first feature film screenplay. I'm curious to see how this coulda been a one-woman show. She certainly turned it into a successful screenplay, didn't she?
I have nothing against "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," it's a harmless, enjoyable, well-written film that seems to have captured the hearts of lotsa people. I certainly don't think the movie's that big of a deal, but it's cute. For a chick flick, it's pretty good.
Scale of 1-10: 7