My Big Fat Greek Wedding

"How are we supposed to know what's going on? 

"It's all Greek to me."

Toula Portokalos (Vardalos) is unhappy with her life, working in her family's Greek restaurant.  Everyone in her life believes she will never marry.  With a little help from her mother, Maria (Kazan), Toula is allowed to take college courses, and uses her new knowledge to help her Aunt Voula's (Martin) travel agency.  While working at the travel agency, she meets Ian Miller (Corbett), a school teacher.  They fall in love and begin dating, but her Greek family does not approve.

Her father, Gus (Constantine), wants a nice Greek son-in-law... but half-heartedly agrees to the match.  When Ian and Toula get engaged, can he cope with her large family and can she figure out where she fits in the family?

"Put some windex on it."

In the 1990s Nia Vardalos performed a one-woman show in L.A. based on her life.  The show became a success and drew the attention of prominent people in Hollywood, including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.  Vardalos was approached to write and star in the film, with Hanks and Wilson producing.  The film became a sleeper-hit and is still funny over a decade later.

The characters feel comfortable and familiar, while still being brand new.  Vardalos is the star as Toula, who is easy to identify with, especially with all the activity that whirls past her.  But it is her family that steals the show.  Broadway vet Andrea Martin is a stand-out as Aunt Voula.  She is eccentric and a commanding presence that you enjoy watching.  Michael Constantine is funny as Gus Portokalos, who gets some of the best lines.  The family as a whole is loud and entertaining, and a consuming presence in the film.  It is consistently funny, no matter how many times you see the film.

The film's success led to a TV adaptation called "My Big Fat Greek Life."  The show featured most of the original cast, with Steven Eckholt replacing John Corbett... but it didn't translate well to TV and only 7 episodes made it to air.

The sequel My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 debuted in 2016.

Funny and memorable, definitely worth revisiting or checking out for the first time.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) 95 minutes
Director: Joel Zwick
Starring: Nia Vardalos as Toula Portokalos
John Corbett as Ian Miller
Lainie Kazan as Maria Portokalos
Michael Constantine as Gus Portokalos
Andrea Martin as Aunt Voula
Louis Mandylor as Nick Portokalos
Gia Carides as Nikki
Joey Fatone as Angelo
Ian Gomez as Mike
Bruce Gray as Rodney Miller
Fiona Reid as Harriet Miller