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Hollywood hues
IF Hollywood went off glamour in the 1960s and went in for ordinary faces like those of Carrie Snodgress and Jill Clayburg, it was in the interests of realism. But now they seem to make out a case for the plain Janes of this world, not to forget Shrek. Accept who you are and make the best of it, they seem to say. Well, that's the plight of our heroine in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Toula Portokolas (Nia Vardalos) is Greek, 30-something, still unmarried, works in her family restaurant "Dancing Zorba" and doesn't seem even interested in getting married. Why? That’s because nice Greek girls are supposed to do three things in life: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies and feed everyone until the day they die. And that sucks, as far as Toula is concerned. Actually Nia Vardalos, who has written the screenplay of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, based partly on her own lifestory, also plays the heroine quite effectively. And when Toula meets
bright, handsome, young high school teacher Ian Miller (John Corbett),
who is American and flips for him, it is almost a no-win situation
because Ian is a xeno (foreigner). But Toula has to work hard at it. Her
biggest obstacle is her dad Gus (Michael Constantine), who is not only
proud of his Greek ancestry but is a male chauvinist. When Toula wants
to go in for computer classes he asks: "Why does she need college,
she's smart enough for a girl ?" But with the help of her mother
Maria (Lainie Kazan) and aunt Voula (Andrea Martin) they bypass this
obstacle with the ease of a 110-metre hurdles champ. |
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Fatone) and a host of corny uncles with voracious appetites and a yen for fun and they are pitted against the young couple and the groom's parents. It's a cultural shock or a case of two worlds colliding. May be after September 11, 2001, the Americans are willing to look at the rest of the world also as human beings. And the swarthiness of the Greeks comes across loud and clear. Epitomised by Anthony Quinn , alias Zorba, the Chicago-based restaurant too is named after him. And the dance sequences plus the music hark back to that 1960s’ classic. Director Joel Zwick draws heavily from that Greek ambience. But after going off to a flying start, thanks to Nia Vardalos' brilliant performance, the film tends to get into the doldrums of predictability in the middle. May be it could have been better structured with the gags equally distributed. The sharp cutting and editing too works against the narrative. The emotional moments could have been better dotted. The contrasts between the two worlds, however, are graphically brought out and the cameos by Greek relatives give the film enough of body. There are some excellent one-liners put across cutely by Toula's parents and though there is an element of repetitiveness, it can be forgiven in the light of the overall effect. May be it could also have been edited a wee bit, by 15 minutes at least, but all said and done, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is an enjoyable entertainer. |
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