How My Big Fat Greek Wedding Fought to Stay Alive

Releasing in 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding went from being a low-key independent romantic comedy to one of the biggest hits of the genre. Becoming a pop culture sensation, this unique love story broke through all manner of barriers and boundaries to reach a wide audience. Said barriers threatened to change everything about the movie, from its culture and cast to whether it would ever be made at all.

As the movie reaches its 20th anniversary, now's the perfect time to look back at what made the movie such a bite of baklava for so many viewers. Starting out as a speculative script and ending up an instant classic, here's the somewhat hidden history behind the production and rise of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as well as a look at the movie's legacy and future.

Opa! The Origins of My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Though the story of a wallflower, second-generation, Greek woman in Chicago is now known as the highest-grossing romantic comedy ever made, it didn't really get its start that way after writer and star Nia Vardalos' initial shopping of the screenplay was constantly rejected. Her agents had felt that the script was lacking, all while Vardalos' own Greek heritage kept her from landing more prominent roles. Her agent had purportedly claimed, "Well, that’s the problem. You’re not a visible minority … and there aren’t any Greek roles."

Hoping to change her fortunes, and that of the story, Vardalos turned it into a one-woman play in the Los Angeles, CA, area. Though it only played for a little over a month, the show was well-received, even catching the eye of some folks in Hollywood. One of these was actress Rita Wilson, the wife of iconic actor Tom Hanks, and it was this audience member that helped to turn things around for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Studio Changes and Interference Nearly Changed My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Trying to get the script turned into a movie again, Vardalos ran into trouble when it came to studios' ideas. These included changing the very essence of the movie's storyline, such as the changing the family's nationality to something more marketable. These ideas included making the family Latin or Italian, with big names like Jennifer Lopez and the Italian Marisa Tomei in the lead role. When production company Playtone and Rita Wilson came on board, however, they had faith that Vardalos' original vision would be for the best, including allowing the story's creator to play the role. This way, the story maintained its authenticity, utilizing what had made the play version so successful. Prestige television channel HBO also put money behind the project, which was new given that it usually did so only for movies debuting on its channel.

John Corbett was found at a bar, lamenting that he couldn't audition for the role of Ian Miller. When producers overheard this, they offered him the role on the spot, and the rest is history. My Big Fat Greek Wedding initially had a very limited release, somewhat befitting its meager $5 million budget. Despite this, it steadily rose to wider releases throughout the country on goodwill and great word of mouth alone. The movie's quality was lauded, as it was sort of an anti-romantic comedy in that the couple's hardships were more external than internal. It ended up making over $360 million dollars at the worldwide box office, putting Vardalos on the map in Hollywood and making the movie a modern classic.

The Legacy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding

The success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding led to the creation of a short-lived TV series spinoff/continuation titled My Big Fat Greek Life. Though this series changed some characters' names, it shared the narrative and thematic ingredients that made the movie such a hit. This scored the show great initial ratings, but when they began to falter, My Big Fat Greek Life was sadly canceled.

A true sequel would be released 14 years after the original, with 2016 allowing audiences to see what had become of the Portakalos-Millers in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Though it was successful at the box office, both its financial and critical reception paled in comparison to the original movie. Nevertheless, a third film installment is on the way, with the movie currently being shot in Greece. The original can be streamed through both HBO Max and Hulu, with the show and sequel available for purchase through retailers such as Amazon.