MovieChat Forums > My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) Discussion > Odd plot structure (spoilers)

Odd plot structure (spoilers)

posted 15 years ago by kylopod
6 replies | jump to latest

One thing that's always struck me about this movie is that the central plot conflict is almost entirely resolved about halfway through the film.

The first half deals with how Toula's decisions to go to college and work and romance a non-Greek boy conflict with her family's plans for her. But as soon as Ian decides to get baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church, the basic plot conflict is over: the family has accepted what she's doing. To be sure, there's still some tension that doesn't get totally resolved until the end when her father gives the "We are all fruit" speech and buys them a home, proving his full acceptance of his daughter's marriage. But most of the second half of the movie concerns wedding plans, nothing more.

I remember when I first saw the film in the theater, and throughout this second half I was continually expecting there to be some turning point where Toula decides to call the wedding off, or at least where she gets into some kind of argument with Ian, followed by a make-up scene. I'm so used to that convention in romantic comedies that I was actually surprised this film never went in that direction. I'm glad it didn't; based on what was set up, it would have seemed contrived and unbelievable. But it did give the film a slightly odd structure.

The writers just followed the story where it led, and didn't try to force it into the formula it broadly used. This moved the focus away from the plot and toward the small moments, which I think were crucial to the film's popularity. The movie wasn't about an ugly duckling, or a rocky romance, or a woman defying her family's wishes, but rather about the overall experience of people from two cultural backgrounds coming together.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] rduke72 15 years ago

I think you've made a great observation, but I disagree a bit. If I had to guess, you're used to the traditional romantic comedy structure where the love interest is the "antagonist" in the plot. This film twists the form to make the family the antagonist. While they do "seem" to accept Ian at the mid-point, there are roadblocks along the way (in both his and their acceptance) and the father's final gesture at the wedding becomes the moment that is traditionally reserved for the love interest giving in (and the passionate kiss). So here it is the family and her culture that are the main form of conflict throughout the film, not Ian. If you think about it, Ian never provides ANY conflict. He just loves Toula. He's the male equivalent of a manic pixie dream girl, minus the manic ( http://www.avclub.com/articles/wild-things-16-films-featuring-manic-pixie-dream-g,2407/ ). Substitute "family" for "Matthew McConaughey" and it still sticks pretty straight to form.

Personally, while I feel the film is a little slight, I think its structure and thematic consistency are pretty sound. There's not really a scene in the movie that isn't about trying to rectify a strong cultural heritage in the modern world. Except... that scene where her brother gives her a pep talk right before act three. It's sweet and all, but I didn't even really remember who the hell he was, and it comes out of nowhere. :)

[–] kylopod 15 years ago

I'm actually quite familiar with rom-coms where the family is the source of the conflict. Why wouldn't I be? Whether comic or not, it's a formula at least as old as Romeo and Juliet, and it's standard in movies (Dirty Dancing, Say Anything, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, etc.). (The only thing slightly unconventional about Greek Wedding, compared with other romantic films where the parents try to interfere, is that the lovebirds are in their 30s.) I was simply pointing out that Toula's family accepts Ian about midway through the film, and hence the central conflict of the plot is practically over at that point. It isn't totally over--some tension lingers until the end. But no further energy is spent on Toula's or Ian's attempts to convince the father to accept the marriage, for he already has, even if it is reluctantly at first.

You seem to have misunderstood my point about expecting an argument between Toula and Ian. I have seen plenty of romantic films where we never see the couple argue, and where the plot conflict lies elsewhere. But in such films, the story ends where it started. If it's about a man's unwillingness to accept his daughter's choice of partner, it will usually end when he finally comes around and accepts it. But in Greek Wedding, there's 30-45 minutes of film after the point at which the father gives in. This final half of the movie focuses almost entirely on the charming little moments in wedding preparation, and the plot more or less stands still.

My point was that there are many films which throw an argument into the plot simply to fill story space, even if it seems contrived and unconvincing. That's what I was half expecting to happen the first time I saw Greek Wedding. I'm glad it didn't go in that direction, but there was a structural flaw in that no significant events in the plot occur in the entire final half of the film until the climax. I don't know of any other film structured quite this way. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was interesting to me.

[–] goheathergo 15 years ago

I think you've all kind of missed the mark. It's not called "My Big Fat Non-Greek Relationship" It's not *about* her and Ian. It's about Toula and her family; how they see her as single, then dating someone outside their standards and then how they turn her wedding into a circus.

The conflict is not meant to be with Ian- it's with her family (mostly her father).

[–] president-bush-2004 14 years ago

I thought the movie was okay in everything EXCEPT plot. Plot? What plot? It's a character movie, but come on, there was no real threatening conflict between... anyone. Before you mention it, the familial conflict didn't feel serious or even effective. Everything went smoothly despite the shallow bumps in the road.

---
All those dainty and dirty emotions
Just go away and fade out on their own

[–] kylopod 14 years ago

I think you've hit the nail on the head. The plot was centered on the familial conflict, but it was a very mild conflict to begin with. What's interesting is how little this matters, and how it would have actually detracted from the film to try to force more out of this setup.

I've heard the movie compared to a sitcom (and it was made into one, which didn't last very long), but I think it actually avoided a sitcom structure. Sitcoms, even the best ones, are heavily into plot contrivance. Because they are in thirty-minute slots (including ads), the plots are usually intense and jam-packed, with a central conflict that is exaggerated and not resolved until the very end, sometimes the last few seconds. Often an episode will juggle several subplots as well. This movie not only had a weak central conflict, it didn't have much in the way of subplots either. It was like the filmmakers didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the internal structure.

It may be partly that the movie was adapted from a short stage play. The early scenes do present a conflict that could potentially make up an entire movie, where Toula is dowdy and depressed. But this plot point is quickly tossed aside. I'm not sure I've ever seen a movie with a "makeover" sequence so early in the picture. It must have been within the first twenty minutes. Maybe I would have found the film's structure a bit less peculiar if it had actually been done as a series in three segments, rather than as a feature film.