moving out... lock, stock and two streaming nostrils.
moving out... lock, stock and two streaming nostrils.
Member since:08.12.2001
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...although I have informed my parents that my wedding will be nothing like this!
At the urging of my Dad (another Takis!) who had already seen this, we had a big fat Greek family trip to the cinema to see this phenomenal sleeper hit which crashed its way onto the UK silver screen on the 20th September. As this is a definite watch-at-home option, even if you don't feel like catching it at the cinema, I hope you take this op into account for rental ideas.
The plot is, well, let me see... there's a wedding involved! Too often these days, we here about what a terrible thing it is to be predictable. Maybe, but as long as the observation is sharp and the comedy well-timed, I see no harm in setting it in a familiar plot. This is a comedy that does exactly what it says on the tin, with no real surprises. It is the tale of Toula, a frumpy waitress (ahem, "seating hostess") in the family restaurant who wants more out of life, and runs into problems with her massive extended clan when she meets and gets engaged to a "xeno"... that is, a foreigner, a non-Greek.
The main cast:
Nia Vardalos - Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos John Corbett - Ian Miller Michael Constantine - Constantine "Gus" Portokalos Lainie Kazan - Maria Portokalos Andrea Martin - Aunt Voula
For those of you with
boy band fans in the family, there is also a short appearance by the amusingly named (given the title of the film!), and actually Italian, Joey Fatone of *NSync. Actually, he's pretty good, even if his Greek isn't!
It is directed by Joel Zwick.
Nia Vardalos wrote the film after Rita Wilson (the half-Greek wife of Tom Hanks) saw her one-woman show and got husband interested in the production side. As such, the film is her baby, but she is generous with her acting, never trying to make this a star vehicle about her. Her physical comic timing is impeccable, and she has a thoroughly mobile and expressive face... frankly she's so sweet and accesible that it's easy to believe she could transform herself into an attractive woman and you're ready to laugh with her. Her jokes about her family could sound like whining from anyone else, from her they're warm caricature, gently poking fun and lampooning the expatriot Greek culture without being vicious. For anyone like me, who has been to Greek school, the scene where a young Toula is taught that "O Nikos ehi ena katsiki" (Nick has one goat) should have you rolling about with laughter. You have to see it to understand...
John Corbett is largely sidelined, but then, he would be! He delivers a beautifully pitched sweet performance and generously allows others to take centre stage.
All the other performances are well-rounded and very funny, with some Italians-pretending-to-be-Greek thrown in to round out the mediterranean feel! One stand out is the sweet-faced Louis Mandylor as Toula's comedy brother Nick. And look out for Ian Gomez as John Corbett's work colleague, as he is Nia Vardalos' real husband. The show is soundly stolen by Michael Constantine, however.
Gus is fiercely patriotic and adorably rubber-faced. For anyone who is a fan of Goodness Gracious Me, he may put you in mind of the man to whom everything comes from India... in this case, everything comes back to Greece. He's trying and failing to understand the foreign world around him, and kidding himself that he's the head of the family when Maria knows that "the women are the neck and can turn the head in any direction".
This is not, however, just a Greek film. It has a very universal appeal when it covers issues like trying to fit in, being embarrassed by your parents even as a grown up, understanding and appreciating your family, and falling in love... and of course, putting on a wedding. And Greeks are not the only target. There is also a friendly pisstake of the upper middle class American family that Ian hails from, with their uptight alcoholism and benign ignorance.
It's hard to say very much more about this film without giving away some of the jokes. And the thing about comedy is that it has to be approached fresh to be appreciated, and warmly remembered. This is definitely a film that can be watched repeatedly but the first time you see it, it's worth coming to it without too much of the humour given away. This is mostly because this is a film where the humour is in the observation and the physical comedy... like a full-length sit com (especially a certain scene in church- I'll say no more!). In fact, the director's previous credits are primarily for sitcoms such as Bosom Buddies, Step by Step and Two of A Kind. And speaking of length, it clocks in at about an hour and a half, not overly long, but enough.
For those who like to know this kind of thing, the soundtrack is fairly paint-by-numbers bouzouki, the kind of music that puts you in mind of plate smashing (which thankfully does not appear in the film!) and Greek dancing (which does).
But I'd better add this, since no film is perfect. There are bits of this film that are a little OTT. The Greek grandmother that accosts everyone screaming "Sihameni Tourki!" ("Disgusting Turks!") is funny once, but then gets a little old (no pun intended!). And someone I know was offended at the thought that this was insulting to Greeks. If you are Greek, and suspect you don't have a sense of humour about yourself, steer clear! You must be self-deprecating. And this will be funniest to anyone whose parents hail from abroad, and who are the first generation born here- for those who live in Greece I suspect it will not be quite as amusing. As Empire said, Greeks will laugh loudest, but I was in a cinema full of English folk and I was not the loudest.
So I'll leave it at that and hope you enjoy this. And if it inspires you to want to speak Greek, let me tell you this. "Thank you" is "orea visia". Honest.
Alex :)
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
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Oct 4th, 2002
(Oct 7th, 2002)
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