My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
79%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
20 wins & 29 nominations total
Though it sometimes feels like a television sitcom, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is good-hearted, lovable, and delightfully eccentric, with a sharp script and lead performance from Nia Vardalos
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the perfect movie to watch with your family, especially if you’re Greek. It’s got everything you need: romance, comedy, and a dad who thinks Windex is the cure for everything. Plus, it’s a great way to learn some new Greek words, like “opa!” and “koukla.” So grab some baklava and get ready to laugh!
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Alfran Productions,
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for sensuality and language
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 35m
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Language(s):English, Greek
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 11, 2003
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone, directed by Joel Zwick, written by Nia Vardalos, comedy, romance, box office success, budget, reviewed by Joshua Rothkopf, Nell Minow, Steven D Greydanus, Anna Smith, Peter Bradshaw, Jamie Russell, Rob Nelson, Felix Vasquez Jr., Joe Lozito, Betsy Bozdech, Ryan Cracknell, Jim Shelby, PG rating, Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson as producers, Greek culture, family, marriage, love, relationships, ethnic comedy, Mediterranean heritage, Dancing Zorba’s restaurant, travel agency, vegetarian, foreigner, Windex, Greek stereotypes, sharp script, lead performance, good-hearted, lovable, delightfully eccentric, Toula Portokalos, Ian Miller, Gus Portokalos, Maria Portokalos, Aunt Voula, Angelo
Worldwide gross: $368,744,044
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $611,585,073
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 217
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 66,694,119
US/Canada gross: $241,438,208
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $400,440,377
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 117
US/Canada opening weekend: $597,362
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $990,762
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,281
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $8,292,813
Production budget ranking: 1,739
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,465,680
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $598,826,581
ROI to date (est.): 4,694%
ROI ranking: 20
John Corbett – Ian Miller
Michael Constantine – Gus Portokalos
Lainie Kazan – Maria Portokalos
Andrea Martin – Aunt Voula
Joey Fatone – Angelo
Director(s)
Joel Zwick
Writer(s)
Nia Vardalos
Producer(s)
Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
20 wins & 29 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (129) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (31)
Second City alum Nia Vardalos stars in this ethnic comedy, which she also wrote — an ambitious way to break into a leading role; too bad the results are insubstantial.
April 4, 2012
Joshua Rothkopf
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Perfect sleepover movie for tweens (and moms!).
December 26, 2010 | Rating: 5/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Endearing eccentricities, such as Toula’s father’s improvisational Greek etymologies of words like “kimono” and his reliance on Windex for a range of external-use medicinal purposes, help humanize the characters.
June 27, 2003 | Rating: B+
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
This is the kind of romantic comedy you wish you saw more often.
December 23, 2002 | Rating: 3/5
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It’s enjoyable, with a cracking performance from Michael Constantine as Toula’s father Gus.
October 2, 2002 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
This will have all non-Greeks in the audience wishing they could lay claim to some Mediterranean heritage.
September 10, 2002 | Rating: 4/5
Jamie Russell
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
It’s greek to me.
August 21, 2009
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
It offers the illusion of originality by bombarding audiences with Greek stereotypes, but really clings to the formulaic romance comedy.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Ms. Vardalos’ has loaded her charmingly fluffy script with cute idiosyncrasies in place of actual characters.
July 14, 2007 | Rating: 2.5/4
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
My Big Fat Greek Wedding never tries to be more than a fun, funny romantic comedy about an ugly (or perhaps “dowdy” is a better word) duckling who blossoms and finds her swan.
September 1, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Betsy Bozdech
DVDJournal.com
It’s funny, it’s familiar and you can see a lot of the situations transferring over to your own life.
June 10, 2003 | Rating: 70/100
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 3/4
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly…
Plot
Toula Portokalos is 30, Greek, and works in her family’s restaurant, Dancing Zorba’s, in Chicago. All her father Gus wants is for her to get married to a nice Greek boy. But Toula is looking for more in life. Her mother convinces Gus to let her take some computer classes at college (making him think it’s his idea). With those classes under her belt, she then takes over her aunt’s travel agency (again making her father think it’s his idea). She meets Ian Miller, a high school English teacher, WASP, and dreamboat she had made a fool of herself over at the restaurant; they date secretly for a while before her family finds out. Her father is livid over her dating a non-Greek. He has to learn to accept Ian; Ian has to learn to accept Toula’s huge family, and Toula has to learn to accept herself.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
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