# Why did My Big Fat Greek Wedding do so well? It sucked eggs! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492 "2003-02-12T02:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/41 "2003-02-12T19:49:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*What’s the definition of “decent taste in movies”? \*\* I’ve given a few examples of comedies I’ve enjoyed in this thread… Oh, and what **John Harrison** said. 😉 😛 Now here’s a reviewer after my own heart: [http://cmoore.com/peeps/chris/movies/reviews/60s.mbfgw.php](http://cmoore.com/peeps/chris/movies/reviews/60s.mbfgw.php) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/42 "2003-02-12T19:57:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > **I’ve given a few examples of comedies I’ve enjoyed in this thread…** So “having good taste in movies” = “liking certain movies”? ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/43 "2003-02-12T20:09:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*So “having good taste in movies” = “liking certain movies”? \*\* Yep. Liking certain or most movies which happen to also receive critical acclaim, which is why I’m baffled by this box office phenomenon, since IMO it pretty much sucked. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/44 "2003-02-12T20:16:36Z")
“Having good taste in movies” = “agreeing with crtical consensus”? That’s a bit too self-referential for my taste. YMMV. It’s not the fact that some people don’t like MBFGW – I’ve never seen it myself. It’s the raw hubris and arrogance on display in this thread … that’s what’s grating. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/45 "2003-02-12T20:31:41Z")
Big Fat had a few laughs, made you feel good and was sort of a “secret” tip among friends at the beginning. It was nothing more than a 90 minute sitcom pilot - but there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Likeable characters and no one dies at the end. Just proves that a lot of older people (and quite a few younger folks as well) do still like to go to movies - even if they are considered low-brow flicks. Now if you want to talk truly horrible, cheapo, word of mouth success stories: BLAIR WITCH. How that piece of crap ever became a hit and made money is mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/46 "2003-02-12T20:38:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DMark \* > \*\*Big Fat had a few laughs, made you feel good and was sort of a “secret” tip among friends at the beginning. It was nothing more than a 90 minute sitcom pilot - but there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Likeable characters and no one dies at the end. Just proves that a lot of older people (and quite a few younger folks as well) do still like to go to movies - even if they are considered low-brow flicks. \*\* You are right. Different people like different things about movies. I ask rhetorically to no one in particular: who can say that there is some battery of “correct things” people must like about movies to have a valid opinion? That if you aren’t looking for those “correct things”, your opinion is worth less? ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/47 "2003-02-12T20:38:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > [BIt’s not the fact that some people don’t like MBFGW – I’ve never seen it myself. It’s the raw hubris and arrogance on display in this thread … that’s what’s grating. \*\* This is Cafe Society where movies are often discussed and critiqued. Not everyone always agrees and that’s a good thing. Now, I may be wrong, but if you have personality issues with certain individuals, I don’t believe this is the forum for it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/48 "2003-02-12T20:50:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*This is Cafe Society where movies are often discussed and critiqued. Not everyone always agrees and that’s a good thing. > > Now, I may be wrong, but if you have personality issues with certain individuals, I don’t believe this is the forum for it. \*\* :o \ I’m making more of a big deal of it than it really is. … BTW, here’s something I found telling. Check out the viewer reviews of MBFGW [here](http://us.imdb.com/CommentsIndex?0259446). The higher-numbered entries are older … the ones from #460 or so are from when the movie first came out. Notice that back last spring & summer almost every viewer review was positive … some WAY positive. Now scroll up to the last two months or so of reviews. They progressively get worse and worse. If that’s not (undue, IMHO) backlash in action, I don’t know what is. Must every movie that somehow makes big money justify itself to the critics as high art? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/49 "2003-02-12T20:55:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > **This is Cafe Society where movies are often discussed and critiqued. Not everyone always agrees and that’s a good thing.** That’s not really the issue. Disagreement is A-OK. But, I haven’t seen any real critiques in this thread – nothing above the level of “I think it sucks”, anyway. Rather, people are appealing to themselves as movie authorities while not explaining why they feel the movie is so bad. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/50 "2003-02-12T20:59:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*Notice that back last spring & summer almost every viewer review was positive … some WAY positive. Now scroll up to the last two months or so of reviews. They progressively get worse and worse. > > If that’s not (undue, IMHO) backlash in action, I don’t know what is. Must every movie that somehow makes big money justify itself to the critics as high art? \*\* It may be backlash. It may also be that those people who REALLY REALLY wanted to see it were predisposed to like it because if its subject matter. They recommended it enthusiastically to people who were on the fence or who didn’t really want to see it. Those people perhaps were more likely to dislike it, and were disappointed with the movie, considering the overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth. hrh ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/51 "2003-02-12T21:07:46Z")
I came from a large family, but am Episcopalian, of English/Dutch descent. I therefore identify more with Chris from Northern Exposure’s family than the loud Greek one. It was just a ‘nice’ movie. Nothing spectacular, but I’ve paid for movies that were much worse. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/52 "2003-02-12T21:20:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*That’s not really the issue. Disagreement is A-OK. But, I haven’t seen any real critiques in this thread – nothing above the level of “I think it sucks”, anyway. Rather, people are appealing to themselves as movie authorities while not explaining why they feel the movie is so bad. \*\* The linked review I posted earlier in this thread pretty much somes up my feelings about this movie: [http://cmoore.com/peeps/chris/movies/reviews/60s.mbfgw.php](http://cmoore.com/peeps/chris/movies/reviews/60s.mbfgw.php) I’m amused by the fact that you’re defending a movie YOU HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN! ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/53 "2003-02-12T21:21:58Z")
errr…“sums up”, rather. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/54 "2003-02-12T21:28:18Z")
It’s been said that comedies are the bane of movie critics. For as much as they would like to dismiss the plot holes or stereotypes or contrived situations, the bottom line is: Did people laugh? Few critics mention this in their reviews. There are tons of great comedies which aren’t real critical masterpieces when it comes to structure or story telling. Like Office Space, or Stripes, or Hot Wet American Summer. None of these movies demonstrate amazing story telling, but they’re damn funny. Or at least they’re funny to enough people to make them a success. For the record, I was dead set against seeing MYBFW, but eventually went to see it out of morbid curiosity. Against all odds, I loved it. Laughed out loud- a lot. Something I don’t do in many movies. What made it funny? I dunno… Sharp observational writing, combined with great comic timing from a very affable, flawed, main character? Sure her beau was a one dimensional prop, but he was, in the larger scheme, a fairly small part of the movie. Sorry you didn’t like it. But nowadays, if something as simple as a little independant movie can make so many millions of people happy (if only for 90 minutes), I’m all for it. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/55 "2003-02-12T21:30:34Z")
Oops… make that MBFGW (MYBFW?), and fix all that crappy punctuation, too. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/56 "2003-02-12T21:31:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*I’m amused by the fact that you’re defending a movie YOU HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN! \*\* I’m not defending the movie – and I advanced that I had not seen the movie to make that clear. I’ve pointed out my bones of contention previously in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/57 "2003-02-12T21:38:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*I’m not defending the movie – and I advanced that I had not seen the movie to make that clear. I’ve pointed out my bones of contention previously in this thread. \*\* > [@](#): > > Notice that back last spring & summer almost every viewer review was positive … some WAY positive. Now scroll up to the last two months or so of reviews. They progressively get worse and worse. > > If that’s not (undue, IMHO) backlash in action, I don’t know what is. Must every movie that somehow makes big money justify itself to the critics as high art? How on earth would you know it’s “undue backlash” if you haven’t even seen the movie? Tell ya what, go rent it, come back and then share your insight. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/58 "2003-02-12T21:39:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*Yep. Liking certain or most movies which happen to also receive critical acclaim, which is why I’m baffled by this box office phenomenon, since IMO it pretty much sucked. \*\* And some of us are baffled by your contention that there must be something wrong with either us or our tastes if we \ enjoyed this movie. Hell, I’m equally baffled by the critical acclaim afforded (what I consider to be) crap like Pulp Fiction. So what’s your point? ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/59 "2003-02-12T21:46:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shayna \* > \*\*And some of us are baffled by your contention that there must be something wrong with either us or our tastes if we \ enjoyed this movie. Hell, I’m equally baffled by the critical acclaim afforded (what I consider to be) crap like Pulp Fiction. So what’s your point? \*\* That’s exactly my point. I’m baffled by a movie which I perceive not to be great at all breaking box office records, much like you were. Ain’t life grand? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492/60 "2003-02-12T21:50:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*How on earth would you know it’s “undue backlash” if you haven’t even seen the movie? \*\* Because backlash against raw popularity is always undue, IMHO. To me, “backlash” means that people are holding a movie’s (song, TV show, band, etc.) popularity against it. It’s illegitimate to evaluate a movie while marking off points in advance because it’s popular (not saying you specifically are doing it, but some in IMDB are). The way I look at it, even if I personally don’t enjoy MBFGW, the backlash is still bogus. I can recognize that my mere opinion is in a minority, and be happy with that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-do-so-well-it-sucked-eggs/154492.md?page=4)