Actress Nia Vardalos lands in Greece for new film
In 2002, a little-known independent comedy made the rounds at
select theaters. Nia Vardalos wrote the script and was, until then,
an actress who had mostly bit parts on TV and in a few movies.
People who’d seen the movie started talking about it, and it picked
up more and more buzz until it was in almost every theater in
America months after its original release.
Actress Nia Vardalos lands in Greece for new film
In 2002, a little-known independent comedy made the rounds at select theaters. Nia Vardalos wrote the script and was, until then, an actress who had mostly bit parts on TV and in a few movies. People who’d seen the movie started talking about it, and it picked up more and more buzz until it was in almost every theater in America months after its original release.
The movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” earned screenwriter Vardalos an Oscar nomination for original screenplay. And it was a chance happening that even led to the movie becoming such a hit film. Vardalos, who had worked with the comedy troupe Second City, created a one-woman show about a large Greek family. During one performance, Rita Wilson was in the audience and she encouraged her husband, Tom Hanks, to produce the film.
My Life in Ruins
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson paired up with Vardalos for the recently released “My Life in Ruin.” Georgia (Vardalos) is a Greek-American living in Greece whose fate hasn’t turned out exactly as she would like. She is a professor of the classics who has found herself laid off from her university job. Georgia has resorted to a job as a tour guide for a budget travel agency, and it is a job she can’t stand.
Her boss gives all the “good” tourists to her co-worker Nico (Alistair McGowan). Georgia doesn’t have much leverage against her boss’ decision since the evaluation forms turned in by tourists on her trips always refer to her as mediocre. She already has her tourists figured out before they get on the bus – the rude Americans; the drunk Australians; the funny guy; the divorcees who claim to be over men; and a hodgepodge of other characters.
Things get worse for Georgia when she finds out she will be stuck with a substitute driver – the regular guy is in jail – who refers to himself as Poupi (Alexis Georgoulis) and a bus that doesn’t have a working air conditioner. The driver has a beard and hair that look as though they haven’t been cut for years and he appears to speak no English.
Georgia starts out the trip with her normal cynicism and becomes frustrated with her guests when they aren’t as enthralled by the ancient artifacts as she is. All they seem to want to do is shop for souvenirs and eat ice cream. But as fate would have it, this group of tourists isn’t the same as all the rest she’s touted around for a year. Georgia discovers if she opens herself up, she can connect with her tourists in a way that makes the trip fun for everyone.
Vardalos shines in the role of Georgia, and the comedian has a great way of delivering a funny line. The person who really makes the movie, however, is Richard Dreyfuss as American Irv. He is the mandatory funny guy, and he can’t help but crack a joke. But he is really the one who helps Georgia – and his fellow tourists – find some magic in the midst of ancient ruins. The rest of the cast works well together, especially Greek actor Alexis Georgoulis, who plays the driver and certainly cleans up well. Between the Greek scenery, the laughs and the love story, the movie is worth a watch.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Anyone who has seen “My Life in Ruins” will certainly want to revisit Vardalos’ original break out role. The “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is still a hit with many audiences, and it is something to which anyone from a large family – whether they are Italian, Irish, Mexican or Greek – can relate. Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) is 30 and hasn’t yet been able to branch out on her own. Her family is constantly pressuring her to stay at home and help with the family business – and of course, to meet a nice Greek boy to marry.
It is with much haranguing that she finally persuades her father, Gus, to let her take computer classes at the local college. It is even harder to get him to agree to let her work at a travel agency once she gains some skills. Her father’s worst fears come true when Toula begins to date Ian Miller, a high school English teacher, who is not Greek. Most of the movie centers around her family’s struggle to accept Ian, Ian’s struggle to deal with her huge family, and her own acceptance of her cultural heritage.
The thing that makes the movie work is that it is just so funny.
