My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a movie that made me laugh and inspired me to follow my dreams. The movie follows the romance of Toula and Ian from first meeting to the wedding. The story is that Toula, a thirty-ish Greek woman living with her very traditional Greek family in Chicago, meets Ian Miller, a non-Greek university professor, and it is the relationships between the families and the traditions that Toula's family have that make the movie so funny. The reason that this romantic comedy made me laugh was the fact that it was something I could see happening. Although it was Americanized and at times some of the parts were larger then life, the movie relayed an important theme that it is important to follow your dreams and in the end you will find happiness. .
I enjoyed the movie based on many different factors. This movie was originally a one-woman play acted by Nia Vardalos in Toronto. It made me proud to support a movie that was made by a Canadian and was shot in Canada as well. .
The main characters in the play were not only original, they had flaws as well, and just as we all do. Toula works for her family at their restaurant, the dancing zorbas, and once she decides to pursue a post-secondary education her entire world changes, by meeting someone new and trying new things that her family may not approve of. These changes could happen to anyone at any point in their lives and is happening to many of us right now. The crazy families involved also added to theme of the movie. Ian's straight-laced parents and Toula's rather crazy family were distinct but found a way to work together for the sake of their children, and in the end the families supported their children. .
The idea that you can follow your dreams at any cost is a message that everyone can accept and can carry on with. As reviewer James Berardinelli states, "The reason that this movie is a good example of following your dreams and what makes this movie so believable is that many of the quirks attributed to the Portokalos family would apply equally to any ethnic clan, regardless of whether they're Greek, Italian, Polish or Spanish.
