This movie was bought for me, and I was actually excited to watch it because of it's high rating here on IMDb. It is thus one of the biggest disappointments of my entire life. The acting is actually good for what the actors had to work with, but that's not saying much. The script is *bad*. If you want some examples of what I'm talking about (SPOILERS!!):
In the school scene where Toula asks Ian if they can elope, you can almost feel the tension of `I have no idea how to say this line.' They can't put any real emotion behind these very tender and loving words because they're such empty, flat characters that emotion can't be imagined.
In the scene where Ian tells his friend he won't be Ian's best man, it's as though Vardalos couldn't think of anything for either of them to say, so she just left the bits and pieces of various conversations in the script and called it a scene.
After the dinner with Ian's parents, where they showed some kind of character (albeit atrociously stereotyped character) they say almost NOTHING AT ALL! Again, through the wedding planning, the party with Toula's family, all of it, it's as though Vardalos just couldn't find something for them to say, so she left it out! Now, one could see it as realistic; that often people are really like that when they're uncomfortable. But if it's not interesting or funny, what's the point of realism??
I could go on. I'll stop. I don't mean to bash Ms. Vardalos' skill. (If you're reading this, I'm sorry :) But the truth is that this movie just isn't good. It fails as a romance because of poor (i.e. missing) character development, and it fails as a comedy because of poor (i.e. missing) dialogue.
Rating: 4/10
In the school scene where Toula asks Ian if they can elope, you can almost feel the tension of `I have no idea how to say this line.' They can't put any real emotion behind these very tender and loving words because they're such empty, flat characters that emotion can't be imagined.
In the scene where Ian tells his friend he won't be Ian's best man, it's as though Vardalos couldn't think of anything for either of them to say, so she just left the bits and pieces of various conversations in the script and called it a scene.
After the dinner with Ian's parents, where they showed some kind of character (albeit atrociously stereotyped character) they say almost NOTHING AT ALL! Again, through the wedding planning, the party with Toula's family, all of it, it's as though Vardalos just couldn't find something for them to say, so she left it out! Now, one could see it as realistic; that often people are really like that when they're uncomfortable. But if it's not interesting or funny, what's the point of realism??
I could go on. I'll stop. I don't mean to bash Ms. Vardalos' skill. (If you're reading this, I'm sorry :) But the truth is that this movie just isn't good. It fails as a romance because of poor (i.e. missing) character development, and it fails as a comedy because of poor (i.e. missing) dialogue.
Rating: 4/10