My Big Fat Greek Wedding Had A Lot More Problems Than We Remember

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a smash-hit when it was released back in 2002. In fact, even that’s underselling its success. Produced for $5 million, it went on to gross $368.7 million across the world, $241.4 million of which was amassed in North America. It achieved all this without ever reaching number one at the box office, too. 14 years later a sequel is finally on the way, and what better way to celebrate its release than by mercilessly ripping apart the problems of My Big Fat Greek Wedding? I certainly can’t think of one. 

As always, applause and thanks to the good folks over at Cinema Sins for creating this video, which, unfortunately, points out that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was riddled with problems from head to toe. Sure it was also a feel-good hit that was so damn loveable you just wanted to pinch its cheeks until it was red-raw. But let’s not let that get in the way of laughing at its multiple issues.

First things first, it’s true that Nia Vardalos’ voice-over is rather grating. In fact, it’s exactly one of those voiceovers that Brian Cox’s version of Robert McKee in Adaptation gets so vehemently angry about. Don’t remember? It’s around the 0:54 mark in the below video.

There are also further issues with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Starting with the title, and its use of the Greek letter sigma, which actually tranlsates to an s. This means that the film should actually be called, My Big Fat Grssk Wedding.

Also, why does Nia Vardalos’ Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos really think that working at her father’s hugely successful Greek restaurant is such a terrible life? Actually I can answer that myself. The film is set in 2002. Several years before the economy collapsed, jobs dried up, and people actually had dreams to aspire to. 

It doesn't stop there though. You probably never noticed it before, but the grandma in My Big Fat Greek Wedding almost certainly has post-traumatic-stress disorder. That’s because she needs to be convinced that World War 2 has come to an end, and she even sleeps with a knife under her bad. Plus, John Corbett’s Ian Miller definitely has no friends, and Michael Constantine’s Kostas “Gus” Portokalos is despicably manipulative, too.

You can see if My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 has overcome these issues when it bravely goes up against Batman V Superman by hitting cinemas on March 25. 

Gregory Wakeman