CELEBRATE DIVERSITY

A Film Review of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"

Copyright 2002 Glenn Walker

It's been quite awhile since I've seen a movie filled with such joy, maybe since Amelie. Throughout My Big Fat Greek Wedding several times you can turn around and see an audience with big grins on their faces. It's more than fun or funny it just makes you feel good.

We get to watch a frumpy thirty-year old woman transform herself into someone independent of her strict ethno-centric parents and meet and fall in love with a non-Greek teacher. We see the extraordinary transformation of writer and star Nia Vardalos via make-up and contact lenses that would make Rick Baker and Clark Kent blush.

We also get to see that John Corbett hasn't just been doing Burger King commercials and ruining "Route 66" since "Northern Exposure" went off the air. He's quite the catch here as the boyfriend caught up in the whirlwind of Greek culture of his girlfriend's family.

Also notable are Michael Costantine ("Room 222") and Lanie Kazan (always excellent) as the Greek parents and Andrea Martin who delivers some of the film's best lines. Look quickly for 'Nsync's Joey Fatone as one of the cousins.

All in all My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a great chance to enjoy two hours at the movies, learn a little bit about Greek culture and celebrate diversity.


The above previously appeared at Project Popcorn.