A big fat Greek reality check on Nia Vardalos’s followup
I took my family to see the sequel; it was feta-cheesy fun and olive us loved it
In the Big Fat Greek Wedding version of my life, I am John Corbett and my husband is Nia Vardalos.
He grew up the son of Greek immigrant restaurant owners, and I grew up in a family that thought spaghetti in a can was exotic.
But five years almost to the day after we both started at Ryerson journalism school, I found myself in a poufy dress at a Greek Orthodox church just off campus, with six bridesmaids and six groomsmen in the middle of my own Big Fat Greek Wedding.
And so when Vardalos’s movie of the same name came out in 2002 — a dozen years or so into our marriage — we saw ourselves in the Wonderbread Corbett character, and the pita-bread Vardalos. Full of clichés about both sides of the couple? Of course, but full of feta-cheesy fun, too.
The sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, arrives on screens Friday. I took my husband Sam, and various members of his big Greek family — his older sisters, Despina Morfidis and Bess Stone, and Despina’s husband, George Morfidis — to a preview screening. George insisted on yelling “Opa!” several times; and some of us cried a bit in the wedding scenes. Here’s an edited version of what else they thought.
What about the movie rang true? Sam: The father’s character reminded me a lot of my father, with his everything-comes-from-the-Greeks and Greeks-are-the-best attitudes. George: The metal cookie container where they kept their wedding certificate . . . my parents had a similar cookie tin and they kept their SIN cards, passports and citizenship in it. Despina: The grandmother living with the parents and being part of her grandchildren’s life, the wedding — in particular the music and the dancing. Bess: The helicopter mom, the family closeness, the feeling that you need to help everyone with their problems.
What seemed stereotypical or not true to life? Sam: When the relative arrived from Greece, but spoke in English, not Greek. And they don’t play “Here Comes the Bride” in Greek Orthodox services. Despina: The whole family going along to drop off the daughter at university! That was a bit exaggerated.
What’s with the dad curing everything with Windex? I’ve never seen that. Have you? George: I don’t get the Windex thing. It may relate to cleanliness. I remember once my mother saw an ant in our kitchen — one ant, and she emptied all the cupboards and cleaned everything with bleach.
What’s the biggest, fattest Greek wedding you’ve ever been to? Despina: We have been to a lot of big, fat Greek weddings over the years. However the most memorable is ours. With 420 guests and 14 bridesmaids and ushers, plus the best man and maid of honour, flower girl and the ring bearer . . . it was definitely a big, fat Greek wedding! Bess: Mine — 325 people! Do you think your daughters will marry a nice Greek boy? George: Probably not! I still think it would be nice, but not realistic. Despina: They will marry nice people . . . but not too likely a Greek boy. Bess: Doubt it. Michael Constantine, who plays Nia Vardalos’ father, is of Greek descent, but Lainie Kazan, who plays her mother, and Andrea Martin, who plays her aunt, are not. What do you think of their Greek accents? Sam: Lainie looked more and sounded more like a Greek. Like the first movie it seemed like Andrea was trying too hard to nail a Greek accent. George: The true Greek accent is more elegant then theirs. In the movie it was a little rough. Despina: Andrea Martin is very fun- ny, however I don’t think her accent was very good. But all is forgiven because she is so hilarious. Bess: Their accents weren’t bad.
Here’s a cliché: how many spanakopitas out of 4 would you rate the movie? Sam: 3 George: 4 . . . Loved the movie!! Despina: 4 spanakopitas for sure. It was very enjoyable, lots of laughs. A feel-good movie for me. Bess: 3.5
Sounds like you’re all going to see it again. Who will you see it with? Sam: Of course I’ll see it again. And of course with family, including my 94-year-old yiayia and my mother who is in her 70s. George: Canadian friends and our daughters. Despina: I definitely want to see it with our daughters (who are in their 20s). When the girls see it, they will have a better understanding of what it was like to grow up in a first-generation Greek family. Bess: Family, including my (20something) son and daughter. You saw me crying through most of the movie. It made me realize how much I miss my dad (who died in 2010), but also made me wish that we all lived closer and could spend more time together. And yes, of course I’m crying right now. klaskaris@thestar.ca or twitter.com/ dayslikethese