My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Difference between revisions
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''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' is a 2002 [[Romantic Comedy]] film written by and starring Nia Vardalos, directed by Joel Zwick and produced by [[Tom Hanks]] and his wife Rita Wilson. It is based on Vardalos' one woman show and at the 76th [[Academy Award|Academy Awards]], it was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
Toula Portokalos is a single, voluptuous thirty-year-old Greek woman living with her parents and brother in a [[Close
In this new lifestyle she meets the handsome, charming but ''non-Greek'' Ian Miller. They fall for each other and decide to get married. Her dad does not approve; how could she possibly marry a non-Greek?
Nevertheless, things get sorted out and a huge and ''very'' Greek wedding is planned...
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[[Hilarity Ensues]].
Noted for being the highest-grossing film to never have a #1 weekend at the box office, the film slowly propelled past $200 million domestically thanks to strong word-of-mouth and gross holding that slowly led to wider releases. One of the reasons behind its success is the sharp indie-film dialogue and avoiding many of the pitfalls that plague other romantic comedies like [[Hollywood Homely]] (Nia Vardalos is attractive but not the typical bombshell, giving her makeover more plot relevance than others) and the "teary-eyed breakup due to a misunderstanding."
Followed up by [[Recycled: the Series|an unmemorable TV sitcom]], ''My Big Fat Greek Life''.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Bad Bad Acting]]:
{{quote|
** Business is ''bad''?!
* [[Beautiful All Along]]
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]
* [[Black Sheep]]: Toula.
* [[California Doubling]]: A movie about events that took place in Winnipeg, written by a Winnipeg writer, starring a Winnipeg actress... was set in Chicago and filmed primarily in Toronto.
* [[Closer to Earth]]: Toula's mother, compared to her father. When Toula announces she's getting married, her father has a [[Heroic BSOD]] while her mother tries to convince him nothing's wrong with it.
* [[Converting for Love]]: Ian, to Greek Orthodoxy. Since the Church isn't used to adults converting, he is
▲* [[California Doubling]]: A movie about events that took place in Winnipeg, written by a Winnipeg writer, starring a Winnipeg actress... was set in Chicago and filmed primarily in Toronto.
** Actually, there are plenty of adult conversions. You wear a white gown, not bathing trunks, then dress in a special outfit afterwards. There are special tubs for adult baptisms.
▲* [[Close Knit Community]]
▲* [[Converting for Love]]: Ian, to Greek Orthodoxy. Since the Church isn't used to adults converting, he is baptised in a kiddie-pool.
▲** Actually, there are plenty of adult conversions. You wear a white gown, not bathing trunks, then dress in a special outfit afterwards. There are special tubs for adult baptisms.
* [[Culture Clash]] / [[Not So Different]]: The entire point of the movie is [[An Aesop]] about this, with plenty of [[Rule of Funny|opportunity for jokes]] along the way.▼
* [[Cultural Posturing]]: There is nothing that Mr. Portokalos can't trace back to Greece. Even ''[[Up to Eleven|kimonos]]''.
▲* [[Culture Clash]] / [[Not So Different]]: The entire point of the movie is [[An Aesop]] about this, with plenty of [[Rule of Funny|opportunity for jokes]] along the way.
* [[Distracted
* [[Engagement Challenge]]
* [[Fairytale Wedding Dress]]: Toula's dress, even though with the veil it looks overdone.
* [[Fourth Date Marriage]]
* [[Glad You Thought of It]]
▲* [[Fun With Foreign Languages]]
▲* [[Glad You Thought of It]] - The best way to get Gus's consent is to let him think it was his idea.
* [[The Glasses Gotta Go]]
* [[Greasy Spoon]]: The Portokalos establishment is an excellent example of a Greek-American diner in the city.
* [[Happily Married]]: Toula's parents. Probably Ian's parents.
** And Ian and Toula, as shown in the [[Distant Finale]].
* [[Hilarity Ensues]]: Every time Ian's family tries to interact with Toula's.
* [[If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...]]: "I'll kill you and [[Make It Look Like an Accident]]."
** Subverted in that Toula's male relatives are just messing around with Ian.
*** ... Maybe.
* [[Impossibly Tacky Clothes]]: Toula's reaction to her wedding dress. "I'm a snow beast."
** Even more so for the bridesmaids' dresses.
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* [[Lucky Charms Title]]: My Big Fat Grssk Wedding?<ref>[[Don't Explain the Joke|G-R-Sigma-Sigma-K]]</ref>
* [[Meaningful Name]]: ''Portokali'' (πορτοκάλι) is Greek for "orange." Toula's father makes an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] on the resemblance of Ian's name (Miller) to the Greek word for apple (μήλο, ''milo''). Get it?
* [[Never Mess
* [[Nuclear Family]]: Greek Americans don't believe in it. At least not the Portokalos.
** [[Truth in Television]] for many immigrants.
* [[Odd Name Out]]: Almost all of the young family members have the name (or variation) of Anita (including Athena and Angelo), Diane or Nick (including Nikki). The outsider? Toula.
{{quote|
"And I am GUS!"
* [[Old Maid]]: Toula is only 30, but her parents seem to think she needs to get married ''right away''.
** Her father started calling her old at FOURTEEN!
*** This is exaggerated [[Truth in Television]], as any child of Greek immigrants will tell you. It's a pretty common attitude in the Eastern Mediterranean that [[Christmas Cake|any woman over 25 who isn't married is an embarrassment to the family]].
▲* [[One Steve Limit]]: Aversion: Unlimited Nicks.
** And Nikki.
** Note that this is partly [[Truth in Television]], as Greek children are traditionally named after their grandparents. Obviously it doesn't usually get ''that'' bad, but still.
* [[Rant
* [[Real Men Eat Meat]]: Ian is a vegetarian and Toula's family is naturally shocked by this. Leads to a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]]:
{{quote|
* [[Running Gag]]: Gus Portokalos thinks Windex is the solution to everything.
** Becomes a bit of a [[Brick Joke]] at the end of the film when Ian sprays some on a wedding-day zit and it ''actually works''.
* [[Stay in
▲* [[Stay in The Kitchen]]: At the start, Toula's dad believes she should do this. As the film progresses, it appears to be more of "stay in the enclave", and applies to his son as well: Greeks hang out with Greeks, marry Greeks, work at the family business, and so forth.
* [[Tactful Translation]]: Unimpressed with Ian's attempt to wish him a happy Easter ("Cheestro Nasty!"<ref>meant to be ''Χριστός ἀνέστη'' (''Christos Anesti'' meaning "Christ is Risen!")</ref>), Gus mutters in Greek, "My people were writing philosophy when your people were still swinging in trees." At Ian's confused look, Toula says, "He likes you."
* [[There Are Two Kinds of People in
▲* [[There Are Two Kinds of People in The World]]: "...Greeks, and everybody else who wish they were Greek."
* [[Truth in Television]]: As any Greek-American who's seen the film will readily tell you. And not only them.
** Indeed. This movie was a big hit because America is a nation of immigrants meaning that a whole lot of us have wacky ethnic relatives - which ethnicity doesn't really matter because they are ALL like Toula's family, in their own way.
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Well, Toula is a female - but the same concept applies.▼
* [[The Windy City]]▼
▲* [[Well Done Son Guy]]: Well, Toula is a female - but the same concept applies.
** It's hinted that Toula's brother Nick (who apparently wants to study art) has similar issues.
* [[When I Was Your Age]]
{{quote|
▲* [[The Windy City]]
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[[Category:Romantic Comedy]]
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