Two guys and a movie: ‘Greek Wedding’ grade A

Ok, I went into the theater with the intent to trash this film. I wanted to hate it. I wanted to destroy it. But in the end, I laughed and I cried and I fell in love with the whole family.

Based on a one-woman play written by the film’s star Nia Vardalous, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” makes the transition to the big screen easily and honestly. It was actually delightful to watch the characters as they became more than Hollywood actors on a screen.

The whole family is larger than life. This can be a problem sometimes. When you have a comedy that has larger-than-life people at its core, it is hard for them to be real. But they were. I looked at them like my own family and thought I could be Greek. I wanted to be part of the family.

Vardalous as Toula was surprisingly consistent. She played the role with such ease that I felt it was her life on film. Her counterpart, John Corbett also felt right at home. He has come a long way from his early television sitcom days.

The chemistry between the two was contagious. I was thrilled when they started to fall in love because it was real life – not the skinny beautiful girl falling in love with the sculpted flawless guy, neither of which ever really makes a connection outside of the physical perfection. This was honest. Refreshing. True love.

The most powerful draw for this film is that family and emotion of the heart are more important than the slapstick jokes and vain humor. But what was magical here is that the real family situations and responses make the show funny. Not just a short chuckle kind of funny, but heartfelt real laughing which sustains you for days.

And who will forget some of the moments in the film? When you meet a person for the first time and you think they are beautiful, how many times have you wanted to crawl behind a water cooler? And when they walk in, you forget to take the headset phone off of your head before you walk – these were real moments.

Be it a vegetarian lamb feast or baptism in an inflatable kiddy pool, this film touches home. The invitation is to become part of the family, and once you are in, you are in to stay. That is just the way it is.

And the running use of Windex as a cure-all was probably the thing that made this film the most real for me. It was not just a joke for a joke’s sake. People really do this kind of thing.

This was a great film with a realistic story that leaves you with a “streak-free shine, everytime.”

Justin is doing a second bachelor in theater. Comments can be sent to justinsb26@hotmail.com