AT THE MOVIES WITH KASEY BUTCHER

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a funny movie with a skinny little message: we’re all fruit. Written by and starring Nia Vardalos (Men Seeking Women, Meet Prince Charming) and produced by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, this movie would be good for teenagers to see with the family because it will make them realize that they really aren’t the strangest bananas in the bunch.

In the film, Vardalos plays Toula Portokalos, a “frumpy”, single, thirty year old Greek woman whose whole life is working in the family restaurant, Dancing Zorba’s. She dreams of making her life better by going to college, and eventually does, going from frumpy to fantastic. Toula has a crazy family and a father, Gus (Michael Gonstantine, Room 222, Deadfall), who believes that Windex is the cure to all skin related maladies. Gus wants her to do just one thing- get married. Get married to a nice Greek boy, that is. So, the fun really starts when Toula falls for Ian Miller (John Corbett, Northern Exposure, Sex and the City), a nice non-Greek boy, who comes into Dancing Zorba’s. Ian does his best to fit in with Toula’s family, with little help from Toula’s brother, Nick (Louis Mandylor, Final Payback), and cousin, Angelo (N*Sync’s Joey Fatone). As the day of the big wedding draws nearer, the family gets crazier and the laughs get bigger.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a very funny, quirky movie, that everyone, even non-Greeks, can enjoy. It has an enormous (in number, not size) cast that works together as if they really were a big fat Greek family. It has a cute love story, and best of all, it has comedy that, although aimed at an older audience, teenagers can enjoy with their parents (even though Dads don’t make the best dates). Toula’s family is funny enough, but her commentary punctuates the hilarity. Along with all the comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding has an important message. In the words of Windex-loving Gus Portokalos, “We’re here tonight, oranges and apples. We’re all different, but in the end, we’re all fruit.”

 

(PS)

If you liked My Big Fat Greek Wedding, check out 1934’s Forsaking All Others.

Forsaking All Others, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, is a hysterical mad-cap romantic comedy. In the film Jeff (Gable) returns home from Spain to find that Dyl (Robert Montgomery) and Mary (Crawford), two of his childhood friends, are about to be married. This blessed event would make him happy if he wasn’t in love with Mary. She has no idea, and after Dyl leaves her at the alter to elope with an old flame, she forsakes her self-respect and continues to pursue him. Life gets really messy for this love triangle when Dyl realizes that he still has feelings for Mary. Forsaking All Others, is an incredibly funny movie with non-stop banter, featuring Gable and Crawford, one of the best on-screen duos of all time.