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Archives for : My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Movie Review: “A Simple Wedding” is a Joyous Occasion

Growing up, I watched so many rom-coms and admired actresses like Meg Ryan, Molly Ringwald, Sandra Bullock, and so many other women playing characters looking for love. To an extent I could relate to them and their awkward/quirky personalities, but I never really saw myself. It might be part of the reason why I never thought I’d get that kind of romance in my life (I was wrong).

In these last couple of years, Hollywood has revived romantic comedies by bringing other cultures to light (i.e. Crazy, Rich, Asians & The Big Sick). Even Netflix has stepped it up with To The Boys I Loved Before and Always Be My Maybe. And just by watching these films with ethnic leads, I have felt slightly more represented. Because, as an Iranian-American, this is as close as it’s going to get. Luckily, that’s not true.

Director/writer, Sara Zandieh brings us, A Simple Wedding. The film follows Nousha (Tara Grammy), a thirty-something woman trying to avoid the pressures of marriage by her traditional Persian family. After purposely sabotaging her latest engagement, she unexpectedly locks eyes with a bisexual, artist named Alex (Christopher O’Shea) while at her friend’s protest. Their connection is instant. And after a passionate first date, the two become inseparable and eventually move in together.

However, Nousha’s family has no idea Alex exists. That is until they see him half-naked during a facetime chat. This leaves them no choice but to have Alex finally meet Nousha’s mom (Shohreh Aghdashloo), dad (Houshang Touzie), and grandma (Jaleh Modjallel). They are less than thrilled that he’s not a Persian doctor, and even more bothered by the fact that they are living together; and they can’t have their daughter living in sin. Within minutes of their first meeting, Nousha’s family has somehow gotten the couple engaged, and are planning a quick and “simple” wedding. An already complicated situation becomes more complicated when Alex’s family comes into the picture, and the two cultures collide.

The creators of My Big Fat Greek Wedding bring us a similar formula, but different ingredients. There’s insight into the Persian culture/wedding traditions, and a fair amount of focus on both set of parents. This time producer, Rita Wilson is in front of the screen as Alex’s divorced mom who can’t stand being around her ex (Peter McKenzie) and his hubby (James Eckhouse). Yet, she does like spending time around Nousha’s uncle, Saman (Maz Jobrani).

All the family members do a wonderful job portraying loving, yet at times hilariously selfish parents. O’Shea effortlessly plays a true, free spirit who loves whole-heartedly; not seeing race or religion. But at its core, the film thrives on Grammy’s endearing performance. She doesn’t play a woman who seeks love and feels lonely. She’s smart, independent, has great friends, and a good job. She’s not this loser girl that finally got a guy to notice her. She just finally noticed the guy, and wants to continue the relationship without any expectations.

I know I’m gushing quite a bit about this film, and I am sure I’m being bias given the subject matter. With the news lately, it’s nice to see Persians presented in a more positive perspective. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Everyone deserves to be represented, no matter your race, orientation, size, etc. And no matter who you are, you can relate to the message this film offers about how love requires “sacrifice, understanding, and forgiveness.”

This movie has its flaws, but it’s sincere. And if you still enjoy the simple romantic comedies we used to indulge in back in the 80’s & 90’s, then allow yourself to enjoy A Simple Wedding. It’s a sweet date night flick, and an all-around fun time.

Rating: 4/5

A Simple Wedding opens in theaters and On Demand (Including Amazon and iTunes) February 14, 2020.

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Movie Review: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” Entertains but Fails to Charm

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Fourteen years ago “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was the word-of-mouth hit that surprised everyone with its slow success.  Such a simple plot, with lovable characters.  The simplicity is why the film was so great.  Writer and star, Nia Vardalos who play Toula, took the time to not only write a thought-out plot, but also give proper character development to both the lead and supporting cast.  Which is why we cared so much about each and every person in the movie.

Now, the Portokalos has returned and expanded.  Toula (Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) have a 17 year-old daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris), whose just about had it with her smothering Greek family.  As she begins to apply for college she must decide between a school near by or out of state, adding worry to her already troubled parents.  But this is not the only story-line.  You see in this sequel we are given multiple plots that are somewhat interesting.

While trying to find out if Alexander the Great is one of his ancestors, Gus (Michael Constantine), discovers that his marriage license was not signed by the priest, meaning him and Maria (Lainie Kazan) were never officially married.  This is where the wedding part comes in.  Maria demands a “real” proposal and “real” wedding…que the cliche montage of the quirky wedding preparations.  All the while, Toula is so busy trying to fix her parent’s marriage, that she is neglecting her own.

Yes, there is a lot going on in this film.  Luckily, its not so much that you can’t follow the story.  It’s just hard to care about so many different plots.  It would have been nicer, if “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” followed its predecessor’s formula and stuck to one central focus.

I do admire the film for at least attempting an original story instead of recycling from the previous film.  And even though the movie wasn’t anything special, it was still enjoyable.  Luckily, we had the pleasure of knowing all these characters in a better setting, so regardless of the subpar premise, I was still happy to see their current situations.

Ultimately, the greatest factor of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was the merging of two different cultures and how though it can involve a lot of hilarious obstacles, there is a genuine and heart-warming quality about seeing two different people accepting each other and their families.  “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” just didn’t have that kind of heart to it.

That being said “My Big fat Greek Wedding 2” is still worth a watch.  Fans will get enough laughs out of the jokes and be happy to see the entire cast reunited again.

Rating: 3/5

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” opens in theaters March 25.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” Official Trailer HD