Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1270 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-24
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, Greek
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's not surprising that My Big Fat Greek Wedding grew more popular over the course of its US theatrical release (whereas most blockbusters open big and then drop precipitously)--not only does it have believable situations and engaging characters, but these characters (particularly our romantic heroine Toula, played by writer/performer Nia Vardalos) look like actual human beings instead of plastic movie stars. The result is the very accessible tale of a Greek-American (whose family sees her as over the hill at 30), who falls for a WASPy guy named Ian (John Corbett) and then has to endure the outrage, doubt, and ultimate acceptance of her deeply ethnically-centred family. The actors invest their wildly stereotypical portrayals with sincerity and compassion, giving the movie honest warmth instead of Hollywood schmaltz. But My Big Fat Greek Wedding ultimately succeeds because of Vardalos; with her intelligent, down-to-earth presence and charm carrying the film. --Bret Fetzer

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Trailer
Cast And Filmmaker Feature Commentary
Soundbites
Cast Biographies
Production Notes
Greek School Trivia Track

Synopsis
Toula Portakalos (Nia Vardalos) feels trapped in her large Greek family, where women are expected to do only three things: "marry Greek men, have Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day they die." Rebelling against this fate, Toula quits the family restaurant, goes to college, fixes her hair, and falls in love with Ian (John Corbett), a guy who is way-too-good-to-be-true, and not Greek. This horrifies Toula's Greek culture-crazed father (Michael Constantine) and sets off a major culture clash between her loud, eccentric family (whose activities include roasting whole lambs on the front-yard barbecue spit) and Ian's subdued, overcivilized Anglo-Saxon parents.

Based on Vardalos' own autobiographical one-woman play, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING is that rare romantic comedy that has the courage to trust its simple, human story and not resort to overwrought Hollywood sentimentality and phoney glamour (all the characters in the film look and act like real people). It's also filled with big, fat, crowd-pleasing laughs, making it a wedding most worth attending. Co-produced by Tom Hanks, the movie is set in Chicago, but was filmed in Toronto. The spirited cast includes Lainie Kazan and Andrea Martin (of SCTV fame) as Toula's mom and aunt.

Customer Reviews

It's not just the Greeks
A delightful romantic comedy based on culture clashes. Toula's huge sprawling noisy Greek family are initially aghast that she has fallen for a "xeno", the ultra-Anglo Ian. Ian's family are probably just as aghast but are too uptight to get emotional. Will their relationship overcome the obstacles so that they can get maried and live happily ever after? Of course it will. But there are lots of laughs on the way, and not just at Greek family life and culture. Fun is poked in many directions and never maliciously.
I watched this film with a group of friends from a Middle Eastern country far from Greece, some of whom were almost hysterical with laughter at the way they were spotting their own relatives, and their own attitudes, in Toula's Greek kin. Culture transcends nationality. This isn't just a movie about Greeks and WASPs in Chicago, it's about human beings. And it's very enjoyable.

Overrated but sweet none the less
I was expecting more from a film tipped to be the funniest of 2002, but it was nice to watch on a dark and cold evening.

A dowdy greek woman has a SHOCK HORROR makeover to ensnare the man of her dreams. Dad's a bit cross as he's not greek, but they have a lovely big greek wedding anyway. Yup, that's it in a nutshell. However, it is sweet and reasonably funny at times.

Rent it rather then buy it, but it is worth a watch.

My Small Fat Review
This movie is about an ordinary rather plain looking thirty something unmarried woman who comes from a large extended Greek family. All Greek women are expected to go to Greek school, find a good Greek man, marry him and have lots of Greek babies according to the narrator who is also the main character in the movie. This simple premise is what sets us off in almost two hours of raucous humor centered around planning a wedding where a couple coming from completely different backgrounds has to deal with all the external pressures that happen when two people decide to go down the aisle together.
A similar film that can came out in the same time was 'Monsoon Wedding' where the characters are Indian.Watch both of them as a double bill; A Big Fat Experience