Wedding Season Movie Review

Weddings are wonderful. The coming together of two people who are ready, willing, and able to what will hopefully be a lifelong commitment is inspiring. It can also be complicated for singles, reminding them of the fact they do not have a significant other.

The new Netflix romantic comedy, Wedding Season, was released on August 4th. Asha (Pallavi Sharda) has no interest in dating or getting married anytime soon. Neither does Ravi (Suraj Sharma). That does not mean that their parents and their larger Indian community believe the same. To ward off pushy parents and nosy neighbors over the course of a summer, Asha and Ravi pretend to start dating.

As it happens with this narrative arc, Asha and Ravi genuinely fall for one another. But when truths are revealed, they will have to make a choice: go their separate ways or forgive what has previously remained unsaid.

This film is cute in a good way. It sort of reminds me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding because it both embraces and pushes off the traditional boundaries of the genre. Asha and Ravi balance each other out nicely. Asha is a Type A and Ravi is a go-with-the-flow type of person. Though the audience knows where the story is going, the predictability level is not as bad as it would seem to be.

The chemistry and believability of the lead actors as a possible couple are excellent. What makes it stand out from other stories of this nature is the world it is set in and the nature of the conflict. While both Asha and Ravi respect their families, they are trying to do their own thing in a culture that is very traditional and does not do well with change.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Wedding Season is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Fiddler On The Roof Character Review: Golde

*Warning: This post contains spoilers in regards to the narrative and characters from the musical Fiddler On The Roof. Read at your own risk if you have not seen the movie or any of the stage adaptations.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Fiddler On The Roof to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

Some say that men are the rulers in their homes, the kings of their very own castle. As much as I would like to believe it, that is in fact a lie. The reality is that the woman is in charge of the house and the family.

“The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants”-My Big Fat Greek Wedding

In Fiddler On The Roof, Tevye thinks he is in charge at home. His wife, Golde, knows the truth. Golde is the ying to her husband’s yang. Golde is a realist, not afraid to tell it like it is and occasionally burst Teyve’s fantasy like bubble. Her husband is a dairy man whose income is on the lower end of the economic scale. Considering that they have five daughters to house, cloth, raise and feed, Golde’s position is not an easy one.

Like all couples in that culture, their marriage was not a love match, but an arraigned marriage. While there is no fairy tale like romance between Tevye and Golde, they remain loyal to each other and do the best they can to keep their family afloat.

To sum it: Golde is no one’s fool and no one’s pushover. She is smart, capable and does what she needs to do so her family can survive, even under the most difficult of circumstances. When a writer creates a character like Golde, he or she is walking a writing tightrope: the character must be firmly rooted in the world she lives in, while creating an undercurrent which will shape the destines of future generations. Golde may appear to be just another wife and mother, but it is her strength and courage that will inspire future generations of women to change the world.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Movie Review

14 years ago, a little movie came out of nowhere that would prove that a funny, engaging narrative and human characters is the key to film success.

That movie was My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  When Greek-American Toula (Nia Vardalos) meets WASP-y Ian (John Corbett), it is a relationship that is fated to last. But not before her very Greek family gives him the rundown.

Fast forward to 2016, and we have revisited the characters in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Toula and Ian are dealing with the realities of life as the parents of a teenage daughter/soon to be college student, Paris (Elena Kampouris). Like many parents with growing children, they subconsciously neglect themselves  in favor of their daughter. Next door, Toula’s parents, Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) are getting older.

The plot of the film revolves around two narratives: Toula and Ian dealing with the fact that their daughter is no longer a little girl and the unsigned marriage certificate of Maria and Gus.  Like many women in middle age, Toula is balancing raising her child, keeping her marriage afloat and taking care of her aging parents. The humor in the film comes from the subplot of the fact that the priest who married Gus and Maria never signed the wedding certificate, which means the marriage was not fully legalized.

Writing a sequel, especially a sequel to a film that no one expected to be successful, is not an easy thing to do. But screenwriter/star Nia Vardalos’s approach was smart. She waited until life gave her the experience and the spark that would become this screenplay. Fans of the original film will not be disappointed. The charm, the humor, the universality of the original film was carried over to the sequel.

I highly recommend it.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Trailer

For many film fans, watching a sequel is like walking a fine line. You want to enjoy the next chapter of the story, but you also want to remember what made the first film memorable and entertaining.

The trailer for the sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) is out. Taking off where the first movie left off, Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) are raising their now teenage daughter is who is facing the same issues that her mother faced in the first film.

What made the first movie such a hit was that the story was universal. It was not a necessity to be of Greek origins to understand Toula or her view of her crazy, but loving family. I can only hope that the sequel lives up to its predecessor. But only time and box office receipts will tell.

Throwback Thursday-My Big Fat Greek Wedding

12 years ago, the movie going audience was introduced to Toula (Nia Vardalos), the lead character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Toula is unmarried at the age of 30. Her large and traditional Greek family worry that something is wrong with her.

She has spent most of her adult life working in the family restaurant, feeling put upon by her loving but out there family. After going to school, she meets Ian (John Corbett). They fall in love quickly and he proposes. She accepts and takes him to meet her family. The only problem: He is not Greek and according to her family, that is initially unacceptable. After jumping through hoops, the wedding goes on, but not without a few hilarious hiccups.

I love this movie. What makes this film so good is that there are so many of us who feel like they can relate to Toula. Over a certain age and single, our traditional families are concerned about us, but do it in a way that is more cringe worthy than helpful. This film is memorable because it could take place in a specific cultural or religious group and still be universal.

I recommend it.