Written by Leanna Westerhof. Media by Kayla Morton.
We all know and love our favorite 30-year-old, single, Greek woman known as Toula. She was plain, more than a little awkward and stuck in a job she hated with a family who was loud, obnoxious and meddlesome. Her family thought she would be single forever until she catches the eye of Ian, a very handsome and non-Greek man. She keeps him a secret from her entire family knowing that they would not approve, but soon her entire family changes and slowly welcomes him in. Her Greek father, however, does not approve, mainly because Ian is not Greek. Yet, the wedding is on! And her family rushes to put on a “Big Fat Greek Wedding”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_XKBxnw2o
This comedic movie first came out in 2002 and was nominated for an Oscar and a couple of Golden Globes. The wonderful thing about this movie is it is completely relatable to a variety of people. It is relatable to those girls who are worried about how old they are and the fact that they don’t have a boyfriend. Well, there is hope and this movie shows that love can come at unexpected times. It is relatable to those who grow up bilingual or biculturally and struggle with finding an identity of their own. Toula is trying to balance who she is within her family and her Greek heritage while trying to be a normal woman in the world. She wants more out of her life and starts taking college classes and starts working at her aunt’s travel agency. Men can also relate to this romantic comedy because of Ian and the things he has to endure at the hands of his in-laws in order to be good enough for Toula. He soon learns when he found the woman of his dreams he also found another family. We learn through this hilarious romance that trying to join two families is no easy task, but it can be done!
Enter in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.”
A sequel with the same loud, boisterous, prying Greeks we came to love and know in the first movie. Toula and Ian are still married and have a rebel teenage daughter on their hands named Paris, who, like her mother before her clashes with her Greek heritage. Considering leaving Chicago and going out of state for college Paris devastates her mother while Toula and Ian are trying to reignite the spark they had in the beginning of their marriage. Everything is a struggle as Toula’s nosy family are practically in their front yard and offering their unwelcome advice. And if that isn’t enough for Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) to deal with, their family just got crazier when they find that Toula’s parents have been “living in sin” for the past 50 years due to an unsigned marriage certificate. Let the Bigger, Fatter, Greeker Wedding commence!
These two films teach us wonderful lessons about family and the good and bad that comes with it. It reminds us of the everyday life struggles of parenting, being a teenager and loving family even when they get on your last nerves. It reminds us that it is all worth it in the end.
