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Just in time for Valentine's Day comes the DVD release of this wildly popular romantic comedy, the sleeper hit of 2002. And deservedly so: My Big Fat Greek Wedding falls back on tried-and-true conventions of romantic comedy, but it presents them so winningly as to make viewers think they're seeing them for the first time. Nia Vardalos, who wrote the semi-autobiographical screenplay, is that most refreshing of leading ladies -- one who's not "conventionally" beautiful but whose warmth and charm makes her more attractive than most of the walking Kewpie dolls regularly paraded across America's movie screens. She plays Toula, the frumpy daughter of Greek restaurateurs (Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan) who constantly chide her about remaining unmarried. A diet, some contact lenses, and new makeup transform Toula into an attractive young woman, and before long she has landed herself a handsome fiancé (John Corbett), who must now run the gauntlet of her eccentric relatives to win acceptance into this close-knit family. Vardalos, coming from a similar background, lards her script with keen but loving observations about Greek-American culture. The characters are broadly sketched but rendered with consummate skill by veteran performers who know how far they can go before lapsing into caricature. Director Joel Zwick (Second Sight) wisely lets his cast have its collective say; his main contribution amounts to getting the story moving quickly enough in the first half so that its momentum in the second becomes self-sustaining. Rich in emotion and illuminated by repeated flashes of character-driven humor, this Wedding is one you'll be happy to attend -- over and over. Vardalos, Zwick, and Corbett supply a joint commentary for the DVD, which also includes cast/crew bios. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

One woman's rocky road to the altar gets played for laughs in this comedy, adapted from the one-woman off-Broadway show written by and starring Nia Vardalos. Toula (Vardalos) is a Greek-American woman who is in her early thirties and single, with no immediate prospects of changing that status any time soon. This bothers Toula a bit, but not half as much as it distresses her mother (Lainie Kazan) and father (Michael Constantine), who want to send her to Greece in hopes of finding a husband in the old country. Toula isn't interested in leaving the country to find a man, but since she works in the family business -- a Greek restaurant in Chicago called Dancing Zorba's -- she has to hear about it whether she likes it or not. One day, after seeing a handsome stranger in the restaurant and not having the courage to talk to him, Toula decides she needs a bit of self-improvement. Despite her dad's misgivings, Toula signs up for a night-school class studying computers, trades in her glasses for contact lenses, gets a different job at a travel agency, and spruces herself up with a new look and a new attitude. To her very pleasant surprise, she once again encounters the handsome stranger, who soon asks her out on a date. Schoolteacher Ian Miller (John Corbett) is seemingly perfect -- he's tall, handsome, smart, good-natured, and soon in love with Toula -- except for two little things: he's not Greek, and he's a vegetarian, both of which horrify Toula's family. When Ian pops the question (and Toula says yes), the bride-to-be has to negotiate a reasonably peaceful meeting between Ian's upper-class parents and her own working-class extended family. There's also the matter of the wedding, which Toula's mother is planning around the notion that quantity IS quality. My Big Fat Greek Wedding also features Ian Gomez (Vardalos' real-life husband), Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin, and Joey Fatone (from the pop group *NSYNC). Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson helped produce the film through the auspices of their production company, Playtone. Mark Deming

Rolling Stone

Like Vardalos and Corbett, who play their roles with vibrant charm, the film, directed by Joel Zwick, is heartfelt and hilarious in ways you can't fake. Peter Travers

New York Times

An amiable, offhanded comedy about ethnic identity and last-chance romance.

Washington Post

There is so much goodwill here, you are charmed as much as tickled into laughing. Desson Howe

Product Details

• UPC: 026359199325
• Source: HBO HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 1:35:00
• Sales Rank: 2,975

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