Having been brought up in a very traditional Greek family, Toula Portokalos, a slightly plain young woman, is expected to become a typical Greek woman, and get married to a nice Greek boy and have nice Greek children. Now in her 30s, she is feeling the pressure even more, as her father tries to line her up with several potential husbands of his choice. Then one day, whilst working in the family restaurant, Toula finds herself smitten with a customer, Ian Miller. With no hope of anything coming of it, she puts it to the back of her mind. Feeling restricted by her family and job, she enrolls in a computer course, which leads her to go and work for her Aunt Voula in her travel agency, as well as make something of her slightly dowdy looks.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a very good modern romantic comedy which follows the trials and tribulations of a young Greek woman, as she attempts to find her own way in life. It also highlights the initial difficulties that her boyfriend finds, as he attempts to fit into a Greek way of life. As you would expect, the plot is very predictable, but that shouldn't bother you, because the enjoyment of the film is all the little stories which takes you from the beginning to the end. For example, the first time Ian is introduced to the whole Greek family, is very funny but very true. He is completely overwhelmed with the sheer size of the family and how close they all are. Yes at times the characters are more like caricatures of real people, but this helps to make the film fun and very enjoyable.

In my eyes, the most important part of this film is that it is good clean humour. Unlike many modern comedies, it doesn't rely on throwing sexual innuendo at you, but provides the humour from subtle gags, such as when Gus is explaining that most words originate from the Greek language, or his over use of window cleaner to cure all ailments. Yes the film does touch on the sexual relationship between Toula and Ian, but it doesn't mock it at the expense of one of them.

Personally I love this film, it maybe because I can see many scenes which mimic some of my own personal experiences, but mainly because it is a fun film. It never tries to take it self seriously, although it does display some real issues when two people of different nationalities get together. Unless you really detest the genre of romantic comedy I would recommend this one purely on the fact that it is fun and light hearted. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is available on Amazon at the bargain price of just £4.96.

Tom Hanks's wife, Rita Wilson, saw the play and recommended that her husband produce a movie version. In an interview with the German magazine "Cinema", Nia Vardalos mentioned, that she hung up when Hanks called, because she didn't believe it was really him. - courtesy of IMDB