My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.

Director:

Joel Zwick

Writer:

Nia Vardalos

Stars:

Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 20 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nia Vardalos	...	Toula Portokalos
Michael Constantine	...	Gus Portokalos
Christina Eleusiniotis	...	Toula Portokalos - Age 6
Kaylee Vieira	...	Schoolgirl
John Kalangis	...	Greek Teacher
Lainie Kazan	...	Maria Portokalos
Marita Zouravlioff	...	Toula Portokalos - Age 12
Sarah Osman	...	Athena Portokalos - Age 15
Petra Wildgoose	...	Car Pool Friend
Melissa Todd	...	Car Pool Friend
Bess Meisler	...	Yiayia
Andrea Martin	...	Aunt Voula
Louis Mandylor	...	Nick Portokalos
Gerry Mendicino	...	Uncle Taki
Stavroula Logothettis	...	Athena

Storyline

Toula Portokalos is 30, Greek, and works in her family's restaurant, Dancing Zorba's, in Chicago. All her father Gus wants is for her to get married to a nice Greek boy. But Toula is looking for more in life. Her mother convinces Gus to let her take some computer classes at college (making him think it's his idea). With those classes under her belt, she then takes over her aunt's travel agency (again making her father think it's his idea). She meets Ian Miller, a high school English teacher, WASP, and dreamboat she had made a fool of herself over at the restaurant; they date secretly for a while before her family finds out. Her father is livid over her dating a non-Greek. He has to learn to accept Ian; Ian has to learn to accept Toula's huge family, and Toula has to learn to accept herself.

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Plot Keywords:

greek | greek restaurant | prejudice | travel agency | baptism | 

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Taglines:

Love is here to stay... so is her family.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sensuality and language

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English Greek

Release Date:

2 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mariage à la grecque

Filming Locations:

Showline Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$597,362, 21 April 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$241,438,208, 13 April 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$368,744,044

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gold Circle Films, Home Box Office (HBO), MPH Entertainment Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song playing at the wedding reception, "All My Only Dreams," first appeared in That Thing You Do! (1996), which was written, directed, and produced by Tom Hanks, who also produced this film.

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Goofs

When they are sitting on Toula's parent's couch, the plastic cover changes. One minute it is covering all of the couch, the next it is only covering the back of the couch.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gus Portokalos: [to Toula] You better get married soon. You're starting to look... old!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: All E's are replaced by the Greek letter Sigma.

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Connections

Referenced in Veep: Joint Session (2015)

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Soundtracks

Waltz
from "Coppelia"
Written by Léo Delibes (as Delibes)
Arranged by J. Ten Kortenaar
Published by Ocean Ridge Music I
Courtesy of Promusic, Inc.

User Reviews

A big fat Greek film

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is a lovely film. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is not an extremely good film but it just doesn't go wrong anywhere. The story is simple. Toula, played by Nia Vardalos, is 30 years old and still single. Her family is Greek so she must marry a Greek. Unfortunately for her family she falls in love with Ian Miller (John Corbett), definitely not a Greek. He falls in love with her too and so the only thing in the way is family.

The people in the movie are all nice people in their own way. Although Toula doesn't like her family is Greek in every single way, and is too proud of it, she does love her family.

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is a very enjoyable film, with a lot of funny moments. You know everything will turn out good so it will make you feel better as well.