It's tough to watch something from outside and be able to tell how someone else is going to experience something that you yourself are very familiar with. Also I don't think Italian families are that different. But it's a nice touch to see the Greek community get some. Although some may be an understatement. The movie went big, leading independent movie grosses (maybe still the highest grossing independent movie in America? I haven't checked lately) when it was released.Does that make a good movie? Not necessarily, it actually brings out a lot of people who may watch this and look for things that went wrong. And this is so cliché that it is prone and susceptible to attacks. There are a couple of moments where I actually had to laugh, but that was not enough to actually enjoy the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, all the people involved seem nice and cool and everything, but I just didn't think they achieved everything that was possible (watch Highway to Hellas to see how it's really done).

In Chicago, Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) is a 30 year old Greek spinster. She has always been the frumpy outsider from a large family. Her proud Greek father wants her to marry a nice Greek boy and have a bunch of Greek kids. She works at the family restaurant where Ian Miller (John Corbett) comes in one day. She falls for the tall teacher immediately. She decides to go back to school to study computers and her mother convinces her father. She starts working at Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin)'s travel agency. She meets Ian again and they start dating before getting her father's approval.I like the family more than the couple. Vardalos and Corbett are not necessarily top rank actors. They don't make for a great rom-com pairing. What excels is the extended Greek family. They are all great and each one brings fun joy. The movie drags when it focuses on the couple. It's not like their relationship is that compelling or dramatic. They are functional but the family is excellent.

This blockbuster movie was a sleeper release. A movie for the entire family and filled with fun and laughter for every one. A loud, obnoxious Greek family is all you need to make this storyline work. One girl trying to break free of the smothering love of a family falls in love with a non-Greek and breaks all the molds.I recommend for the entire family to see this movie and I believe it to be an instant classic. It is funny and has some very tender moments for the women. It was very well written and directed. I enjoyed every minute of it. It is a fantastic comedy.I highly recommend seeing this movie then second movie back to back,

The first time I watched this movie, I liked it. Then, I started to think about it and realized that I actually don't like it. The main problem is probably me because I have issues with plots that revolve around over-bearing families being the problem in the protagonist's life. The reason why I have issues with that plot is that the family is almost never confronted by the protagonist about their over- bearing behavior. It is always the protagonist's fault for not liking her over-bearing family. To me, that's a problem. Yes, the protagonist should evolve love their family, but the family should also realize that there is a time and a place to be over-bearing. For example, when Toula and Ian where at Toula's house deciding on wedding invitations and such, Toula's sister (or her mother, I can't remember) says she made the wedding invitations, that Toula has to invite relatives she doesn't know, and her cousin Nicky walks in with her design for the bridesmaid dress. If I were Toula, I would have snapped. I would have appreciated what they were doing, but the wedding was becoming more about the family and less about Toula. That is a perfect moment when Toula should have confronted her family, or at least did it without Ian there so it is not that awkward. Another point she should have confronted her family is when her mother said they invited the whole family to meet Ian's parents. That is way too much for any person to handle in the first time meeting your daughter-in-law's family. While there is one point when Toula's father says that Ian's parents looked at them like they were from a zoo, it was in the movie for the sole purpose of Toula giving in to her family's crazy ways. It had no impact on the family as a whole and neither parents tried to meet the other parents half-way. If Toula's parents tried to compromise and Ian's parents still looked at them funny, then that line is warranted. But that didn't happen. Nothing really changed or evolved. The wedding was less about what Toula wanted and more about what her family wanted. If the movie wasn't focused on the crazy family, then I would give the movie a better rating. However, that is the point of the film and thus I give the movie 5/10.