Written by Nia VardalosDirected by Joel ZwickRunning Time: 96 minutes (approx)Production Year: 2002Rating: PG CertificateProduction Country: USA/CanadaFilmed in ColourThis jolly, low-budget romantic comedy, based on Nia Vardalos's stage-play, broke the rules to become one of the most unexpected hits of 2002. Toula (Vardalos, pictured) works in the Greek restaurant owned by her father. He has one mission in life: to see his daughter married. Salvation looks possible when teacher Ian (John Corbett, pictured) dines at the restaurant and charms Toula, who is entranced. She immediately has a makeover, and signs up for night school, vowing to change her life and engineer another meeting with Ian. Her mother Maria (Lainie Kazan) gets her a job at a travel agency, knowing that Ian will visit. When he does, the pair begin to date. Toula's life is transformed, and her parents are euphoric, until they discover a problem: Ian's not Greek... The film was championed by actor Rita Wilson, who, having seen Vardalos's one-woman stage play, persuaded her husband Tom Hanks to take an option on it. Hanks called Vardalos, who slammed the phone down, convinced it was a practical joke. But it wasn't. Hanks, who funded the film with $5 million, had the last laugh. The film picked up worldwide box-office receipts of more than $200 million, becoming the second most profitable independent production in movie history (behind The Passion of the Christ), giving Hanks an enormous return on his investment. Canny scheduling - which saw the movie released during the 2002 World Cup - helped the film take £13 million in the UK. But that's only half the reason. There's real charm here, together with some sharp cultural ridicule and a positive message: it's not only size-6 blonde waifs that grab the good guy. It also filled the gap for good solid rom-coms that Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make. Vardalos and Sex and the City's John Corbett are a suitably fairytale pairing, but it's Andrea Martin as Aunt Voula who grabs the best lines, plying Ian's Wasp parents with ouzo while regaling them with her medical history. Recommended. Cast
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a Film programme that first aired in 2002 and has been rated PG. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 3 star programme.
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