Product Description

Based on the characters from the popular independent film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding! Nia and Tom return from their honeymoon and discover that when the honeymoon is over, the real fun begins. Seven episodes! Stars almost the entire cast from the movie – Nia Vardalos, Lainie Kazan, Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin and more. Executive produced by Rita Wilson.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25668 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2004-11-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish, Portuguese, Greek
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 152 minutes

Amazon.com
In the wake of the phenomenal success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it seemed an obvious choice to build a sitcom around writer-star Nia Vardalos's family life. But the sitcom was cancelled after half a seaon--which is too bad, because though My Big Fat Greek Life doesn't capture the same relaxed, storytelling rhythm of the movie, almost the entire acting ensemble returns (Andrea Martin, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Gia Carides, and Louis Mandylor; only John Corbett, due to other obligations, was ably replaced by Steve Eckholdt as Nia's non-Greek husband), and their skilled interplay makes My Big Fat Greek Life an entirely satisfying show. Most of the episodes stay strongly entrenched with family issues, playing with the contrasting tugs of family obligation and the desire for independence, all anchored by Vardalos's smart, engaging presence. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

A Very Short-Lived, Mostly LacklusterTV Series
Following the enormous success of the 2002 film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Brad Grey, Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos (who wrote and starred in the film), along with 8 other people, produced a TV series sitcom with a similar cast and plot entitled "My Big Fat Greek Life". The series aired on CBS in the spring of 2003, but poor viewer ratings brought about its quick demise after only 7 episodes. Characters that appeared in the TV series that had also appeared in the original film and remained unchanged were Maria Portokalos (Lainie Kazan), Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine), Nick Portokalos (Louis Mandylor), cousin Nikki (Gia Carides) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin). Nia Vardalos, who played Fortula 'Tula' Portokalos in the film, changed her character's name to Nia Portokalos Miller for the TV series. John Corbett, who played Tula's husband Ian Miller in the original film, was unable to appear in the TV series due to a previous commitment to another TV series. (That TV series, "Lucky", was cancelled by Fox after 13 episodes.) So, in place of John Corbett, Nia's husband in the TV series was Thomas Miller as played by Steven Eckholdt.

Whereas the 2002 film had been expertly written and successfully drew the audience into its tale of self-discovery and love for its main character, 'Tula' Portokalos, the TV series instead focused primarily on jokes and less engaging, often predictable plot lines. My rating for each of the seven episodes, as well as each episode's air date, are as follows:

1. "The House Gift" (3, 2/24/2003). After returning from their honeymoon, Nia and Thomas are surprised to learn that Gus and Maria have purchased them a new house.

2. "The Empire Strikes Back" (3.5, 3/3/2003). Following the hospitalization of a close friend, Maria and Gus decide to write wills that give the restaurant to Nia instead of Nick.

3. "Ariana" (4, 3/9/2003). Cousin Ariana (guest appearance by Rita Wilson) visits from Greece following her divorce from her cheating ex-husband. Nia wants to help Ariana build an independent life, but Gus and Maria have other plans for her.

4. "The Free Lunch" (1.5, 3/16/2003). The worst written and edited episode of the series, Nia tries to get a loading zone permit for the restaurant. Notable guest appearances include Ken Campbell Rusty Schwimmer.

5. "Big Night" (4.5, 3/30/2003). After Thomas foolishly tries to impress Gus by lying that he knows Pete Sampras, Nia, Voula and Nikki run into Yanni (himself) instead.

6. "Nick Moves Out" (4.5, 4/6/2003). Tired of being taken care of, Nick decides to get an apartment of his own in spite of his parents' objections.

7. "Greek Easter" (3.5, 4/13/2003). Nia wants to impress the family by cooking Easter dinner and surprising Gus with a surprise visitor. Notable guest appearnace: John Aniston.

My overall rating for the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" is 3 out of 5 stars. Had the same writing quality been applied to the TV series as the film, it would have likely been able to sustain better ratings and had more than 7 episodes. Unfortunately, the series' two best episodes (#6 and #7) didn't appear until the number of viewers had dropped following several lackluster episodes and one terrible one.

Don't Waste Your Money
Why this short-lived sitcom is on DVD is beyond me. Don't get me wrong: the first episode is pretty good, with the stars doing a great job. But the reamaining six episodes only get worse and worse; with star Nina Vardalos the only reason that make them worth watching; while the other stars talents are wasted on the barely mediocre writing.

The storylines of episodes 2-7 sound very promising, yet all seems to be lost in the scripts. The jokes are far-fetched; not funny; and everything that makes the movie stand out from all low-brow basic sitcom humor (ie everything that makes it "smart") is absent from the television series.

Don't waste your money on this DVD. Instead, purchase good sitcoms such as The King of Queens, Spin City, Will & Grace, Cheers, Frasier, Married ... With Children, etc.

My Big Fat Greek Life: great talents wasted on a terrible show.

Sooooooo Funny!
I thought this series was great! It tool a few episodes not to long for John Corbett's pretty face, but once you get over it, you realize how great this show is! Not sure why it was pulled becasue there are so many sitcoms that are so horrible that have been on for awhile. Nia and the rest of the cast are great. That's why I am buying this DVD! Nia, PLEASE make a sequel to MBFGW! I swear, it's my life too-even the crazy yaya! Enjoy!