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My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Based on the comedy of Nia Vardalos, Wedding is the story of a 30-year old Greek woman who, much to her family's dismay is still single. Toula (Vardalos) works in the family restaurant and lives inside a shy shell, until the day that Ian (John Corbett) makes his way into the restaurant.
Surprised by the attention he gives her; she makes an attempt to change her life by going to college and changing the way she looks. Things go well after overcoming her father's initial resistance. She emerges from college a changed woman and takes a job at her Aunt's (Andrea Martin) travel agency where she revamps the agency and takes control. Ian happens by one day and the two decide to go on a date. As their relationship becomes more serious, Toula continues to guard Ian against her large family and their lunacy.
Once the pair decides to get married, the family gets involved fully and there's no escape for Ian as they deal with the fact that he's not Greek and he tries to fit in.
The movie's funniest moments come from Ian's interactions with Toula's family and it's a shame they only take up the last half of the film. The beginning of the movie starts slowly and tries to establish the fact that Toula has strange and culturally stagnant family. This is easily seen once Ian comes into the picture and it comes across as unnecessary.
Likewise, in the beginning of the film Toula is made to look very unattractive and it's an unrealistic look. Her makeup is too heavy and once you see her change her looks later on, it's hard to believe she would have made herself look like that before. A more realistic approach would have been to go with no makeup, rather than too much.
All said and done, I have to admit I was slightly disappointed with the film. That's understandable with all the hype it has received, as anyone that has not seen it would likely be expecting more. My Big Fat Greek Wedding does deliver laughs and fine performances from Vardolos and Corbett. Second City Television alum Andrea Martin steals the spotlight every time she's on screen as Toula's aunt.
Video: HBO Video has done an admirable job with the transfer. The disc holds both Anamorphic 16:9 and Full-Screen 4:3 transfer. The 16:9 looks great and has little to no problems. The print has been cleaned up nicely, with nary a spot or grain being visible.
Audio: The 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is surprisingly nice with quite a few ambient sounds emanating from the rears. The mix is well done and they never overpower, but the sounds of music, rain and the family give a depth to the film that is only present when well mixed. Vocals are never hard to hear and overall, there is nothing to complain about.
Extras: With both versions of the film on one disc, there's little space left for any significant extras. A commentary is practically all there is-I long ago refused to call trailers (not present) and cast bios extras. The commentary features Vardalos, Corbett, and director Joel Zwick. Not surprisingly, Vardalos dominates the commentary and provides non-stop entertainment, offering up more information on her family and the film. Corbett and Zwick break in occasionally with comments, but remain firmly in the background.
Overall: My Big Fat Greek Wedding is an entertaining and funny film that I think didn't quite live up to they hype that I'd heard. I do think it's worth watching and it's filled with great performances. Its success can easily be attributed to filling a hole in the movie theater screens. It's a strong and intelligent romantic comedy that doesn't offer up many of the cliché's of the genre and forgoes the standard actors and actresses and offers up a few refreshing faces.
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