I did mention that but used the musical title "Zorba," eoe. It's kind of an illustration that there haven't been many films involving Greek culture. Has this film whetted the public appetite? Speaking of appetites, there's an Italian restaurant about ever two or three blocks in Orange County but no Greek. I've only tried a few of their dishes at the Greek restaurant in Laguna Beach and it seems like very healthy food. I like their chicken soup with the lemon.
We have great Greek food in Toronto on the Danforth. ehBeth, I am sure can tell you all about it. I am fond of Ouzerie and Pan, but to be honest, I don't head out there too much. However....here is a list:
http://www.greekvillage.com/greekrestaurants/
The repeat restos are obviously chains. If you ever make it here, the Danforth has tons to offer.
ehBeth, You're right. We all have our own perspectives and opinions. I thought John Corbett was so-so. As for his being no Johnny Depp. Hell, even Johnny Depp is no Johnny Depp.
portalstar, Hope you enjoy the movie tonight.
LW and Soz, The Wedding Banquet--brilliant.
Monger and Cav, What the hell are you two talking about? Is there some kind of thread/space/time warp?
Monger and Cav were diverting a bit...but the sheep's heads were actually served at this particular Greek wedding, so it seemed to fit. Also, monger's original post about the Ethiopian wedding with 6000 people and many raw cows also seemed to fit the theme. Incidentally, I loved The Wedding Banquet.
Cav, I missed a whole bunch of posts when I wrote mine. I don't know what happened. I'm getting old, I guess. Sheep's heads and raw cows sound like wedding fare to me.
Judging by the responses, it seems one has to come from an immigrant family to have enjoyed "My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was hilarious. Of course, there were stereotypes. No messages, no profundities, no lessons, no redeeming social value. Just plain fun. Like a farce comedy should be. The writer(s) struck a chord with anyone who grew up in a home where two languages competed with each other, and the "new ways" were in conflict with the old.
Editorial: Are we afraid to laugh at ourselves? Are we jaded? Or, are we just too bushed to laugh?
Billy, Earlier in this thread, I made the mistake of arguing opinion as fact. It's a natural tendency. I fear you have fallen into the same trap.
", it seems one has to come from an immigrant family to have enjoyed "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
"The writer(s) struck a chord with anyone who grew up in a home where two languages competed with each other,"
I come from a family where two languages competed with each other. I have attended more than my fair share of Big Fat Weddings. I don't need profundity, lessons, or redeeming social value to enjoy a farce. I simply didn't enjoy this particular movie. I'm glad you did. Laughing is a good thing.
I came to a2k this morning with the intention of posting a thread about the movie I saw last night that covered some of the same ground as BFGW but was far more enjoyable. When I saw this thread, I decided to join it instead.
First of all, I was dragged to BFGW by my sentimental ex-boyfriend who I am certain had an agenda (that I would fall back into his arms with a swoon). What he failed to remember is that, in general, I hate romantic comedies because most of them are neither.
I like BFGW better when it was Moonstruck with Cher and Nicholas Cage. With the exception of location and ethnicity, they're the same movie. Smart, level-headed ethnic girl from a family of even more ethnic harmless whackos has an unfulfilling life working for the family (particularly in Cher's case when she was the glue that held them together). She works so hard she forgets to be pretty. She forgets to have fun. Along comes a young man -- in Moonstruck's case, Cage is as whacko as Cher's family, however, he unselfishly loves her and at least has an interest: opera, while in BFGW's case, John Corbett is excessively bland but unselfishly loves her and gives her a chance to assimiliate a tad -- and, with said man, renewed interest in being pretty, having fun and great sex. Kiss, kiss, happy ending.
Last night, I saw Passionata. Now the acting wasn't markedly better than that in BFGW which was full of limited stereotypes. There were some familiar faces -- Theresa Russell and Seymour Cassell -- a little older and heavier. Their rather limited performances, however, illustrate why they haven't been busy in recent years. And the romantic lead intrigued me. Hmmm, I said, I think he usually plays villians. Hmmm, he looks strange in a contemporary role. I think he was the British Colonel in Mel Gibson's The Patriot, then I started thinking, something more recent . . . Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter?
What was so good about this movie is the heroine's family wasn't whacko.
A widowed fado singer, she lived in a two family house on the lower floor with her teenaged daughter while her mother in law lived upstairs. The three women had a mutually beneficial relationship that allowed them to criticize each other constructively and to help and respect each other.
And, she hadn't forgotten to be pretty. Singing in down at the heels ethnic restaurants, she was a glamourous figure. Her everyday wardrobe was chic. She fixed her hair and wore make-up. All this happened in working class New Bedford, MA and I liked the idea the movie presented that blue collar women have taste.
Best of all was that the hero was improved by meeting her, which you can't say about Cage or Corbett's characters, who were more Prince Charmings than real life lovers. A gambler who was down on his luck, he needed change in his life. Falling in love with the fado singer motivated him to become a better person.
BFGW, despite having been written by a Greek woman, fell into laughing at ethnic stereotypes. Passionata, written by two Boston brothers, respected the Portugese characters in the film. They were shown enjoying life. They were intelligent. They were wise. Their food was delicious and their music valuable.
And the sex was sexy. Some movies have bland pumping. This was lovely. I almost thought a woman directed it!!!
BTW, I liked Monsoon Wedding as well. I thought it too respected the characters and realistically presented some thoughtful young people, working to achieve a balance between their traditions and the world in which they lived.
D'Artagnan said something I agreed with but I've been typing a long time and forgot but then again, we often agree.
I was very disappointed in BFGW. I don't think the Greek culture was played up enough. The potential was there for this movie to be great (as it was hyped to be) but there was no delving into the characters. It was superficial and a huge disappointment. I was looking for a feel-good movie and I came away not remembering anything or caring about what I had just seen.
Why wasn't the Greek culture played up enough? Did not enough of the family members own pizza shops or something?
The family owned a Greek restaurant, noticeably lacking in pizzas, Slappy.
I thought Natural Born Killers was THE feel good movie....but ya know that's just me.
I was thinking of changing the name of my karaoke company to "The Big Fat Greek Karaoke Show" but then realized I'm a thin limey/mick, so it probably wouldn't work so well.
Hiya Plain Old, I agree. the similarities between Moonstruck and MBFGW are inescapable. I'm intrigued by your description of Passionata, and I'll look for it. Thanks for clueing us in.
Heeven, Interesting comment. Not enough Greek culture. I thought there was more than enough about being Greek. But, you may be right. Not much in the way of Greek culture. I also agree with you about the characters. Tres superficial.
Slappy, Ditto what LW said.
Bi-Polar, Hmmm. An interesting perspective. Natural Born Killers a feel-good movie. Okey dokey.
Oh JL we're going to disagree. My kids took me to see MBFGW when I was visiting them in SF. They couldn't understand why I was laughing so much. They hadn't grown up in a Greek household. My dad was Greek. He owned a restaurant. I grew up making pizzas and stuffed grape leaves. We didn't yell "oopa" as much as "yashoo." My grandmother never spoke a word of English and ran around in black all the time. My great-aunts and uncles had plastic on all the livingroom furniture and even a cord across the the entrance. My mother wasn't Greek and she used to love to drive all the Greek relatives crazy. Once when my parents were visiting my great aunt and uncle in Florida, my mother snuck into the livingroom very early in the morning and removed all the plastic coverings from the furniture. My great-aunt swore they had been robbed and spent the entire day taking inventory. My mother told me she had never seen such ugly crap in all her born days. At the risk of being politically incorrect, I will say the "turk" comments were right on. Old Greeks don't like Turks. Of course not all Greek families are like the one portrayed in the movie. My immediate family, especially my mother, actually poked fun at the "other side of the family." Trite, yes. Farcical, yes. But it did give me a good laugh. I guess you'd have to have been there.
Hi Kayla, Thanks for your post. I enjoyed reading it. In some ways it reminds me of my own family (not Greek). I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. BTW, who's JL?
Sorry Roberta. JL has the same avatar. My sincere apologies for not identifying the writer.
I liked BFGW. Sometimes I am just in the mood for syrupy nonsense. I was probably in that mood when I saw it, so I DID find it enjoyable.
Critically though, Monsoon Wedding was a much superior flick!
Finally saw BFGW, and it had a few chuckles, but not my type of flick. I have to agree with plainoldme, it was far superior when it was Moonstruck. John Corbett (wasn't he on 'Northern Exposure?') seemed to me a cookie-cutter "charming guy who says everything right" with no depth whatsoever, and quite frankly, I found his WASP parents more of a stereotype than I did the Greek family! Anyway, light fluff, and I most likely won't remember much about it a few months down the road. I should add though, we watched it on the suggestion of a friend who was Greek, as she had quite enjoyed it. I didn't see much difference though, in terms of how the characters were drawn, that didn't remind me of Jewish, Italian, Indian or any other 'ethnic' family. Only a few small details distinguished the culture, and maybe that was enough for the kind of movie it is.
Hey, you know how they seperate the men from the boys in Greece?
With a crowbar.
