"My big fat ....Greek wedding"

This is a movie that will not garner awards in film festivals because it is lacking in cinematic 'edge', but it is makes up for this in story telling, old fashioned story telling with lots of "feel good" moments and hilarious interludes. The movie is based on a one woman/act play by a Greek Canadian comedian/actress from Winnipeg, Nia Vardalos. It is somewhat autobiographical and extremely telling of the ethos that governs Greek communities in North America, communities that on the whole have remained in a time warp of the1950s. It has impacted the consciousness of contemporary movie goers as to the make up of greek immigrant families much as the movies "Never on Sunday" and "Zorba the Greek" did for Greek life a few years back.

The movie's main character, Toula Portokalos, is growing up in Chicago (it was actually filmed on and around Danforth Street in Toronto's Greek Town), is getting old(er), and is very unhappy working at her parents' restaurant, named - what else but "Dancing Zorba!" She dreams of a better life for herself and comes up with a scheme to go to school, get a job, lose weight, and change dress and hair styles. She meets a nice man-not Greek-falls in love, and has one of those large weddings that so many of us Greeks who live in North America have attended time after time. They have a daughter and presumably live happily ever after.

It is the small moments in between that are funny, like when she describes to her non-greek boy friend her extended family and how her trillions of cousins are all named Nikos, Nick, Nickie or variations thereof (from the Greek custom to name first born boys after the same grand father, or grand mother); or when her mother and aunt conspire to help Toula break the news of her newly acquired education to her father, a father who fears that a glasses-wearing, educated woman will be a turn off to potential husbands from within the greek community.

Of course there are also the big (and too many) tacky moments, like her parents' house having the garage door painted as a huge Greek flag...in all my years in Canada and the US I never saw such a door-but there is s swimming pool somewhere in the US (I'll never tell) that has a Parthenon built around it! Also, I have not heard any Greek attribute absolute healing powers to...Windex, but I have heard chlorine bleach praised for as many healing powers by Greeks as Windex by Mr. Portokalos!!

The movie is predictable, a bit overdone - but warm hearted and funny without ever becoming mean spirited...and a documentary of the life of so many Greek immigrants that we believe makes it worth a ticket!