The Film
Back in the late ‘90s, Nia Vardalos was a struggling actress with a few credits to her name. Apparently, her Greek ethnicity wasn't a commodity by Hollywood standards.
However, Vardalos wasn't ready to give up. Since the execs weren't going to bring her Greek-ness to audiences, she decided to do it for them. Vardalos developed a one-woman show based on her family and life experiences, which caught the eye of fellow Greek girl Rita Wilson -- who just happens to be the wife of mega-star Tom Hanks.
The power couple persuaded Vardalos to make her show into the independent movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And you know what? Apparently, Hollywood really has no clue what audiences want. The $5 million film starring the actress that wasn't castable soon became a huge sleeper hit, grossing $241 million. To this day, that number is still the benchmark for the romantic comedy.
Sure, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is filled with stereotypes -- ones that Vardalos claims are mostly true. That said, audiences don't have to speak the language or know anything about the culture; it's really about the weirdness of family, which shouldn't be Greek to anyone.
The Picture
HBO is celebrating My Big Fat Greek Wedding's 10th anniversary in a pretty mediocre fashion. The film really isn't that old, but you wouldn't know it by this 1.78:1 transfer. It's plagued with dim, soft scenes. None of the colors really pop and the level of detail is disappointing. It looks exactly like a low-budget film; one that's at least twice its age.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio track fares a little better than the image, but not by much. In typical rom-com fashion, this is mostly a front-heavy experience. The dialogue is always clear, but the surrounds are pretty dead throughout the entire film. Even the Greek-inspired soundtrack sticks close to the front.
The Extras
This anniversary edition picks up 5 minutes of weak deleted scenes and the commentary track from the 2002 DVD release. There's no talk about the TV spin-off or the possibility of a sequel -- a rumor that just started floating around the web. The only new feature here is a 30-minute retrospective with stars Nia Vardalos and John Corbett. It spends a good portion of that time showing scenes from the film, as well as deleted scenes. However, it also shows off bits and pieces of Vardalos' one-woman show, which inspired the film. If you haven't seen it or heard her story, this is definitely worth a quick peek.
Final Thoughts
My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a huge surprise hit -- making it an even bigger surprise that this anniversary Blu-ray is so lame. The image isn't all that great, the audio is average, and the extras are skimpy. All the Windex in the world won't cure the crappy job that HBO did with this one. It's just a good thing that the movie is still entertaining after 10 years. That and a slight upgrade over the DVD make this one worth a peek.
Product Details
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
