Big fat Greek crap

I knew it, I just knew it - I didn't even need to watch to know, but watch I did, for at least a few minutes. Count me as one of the millions who flocked to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding last summer. Current trends in the blog-world indicate that we bloggers aren't supposed to admit liking something as simple and popular as this, but as usual, I'm swimming against the stream - I liked it, a lot. It was the kind of movie we see so rarely these days - fun. It had simple, smart humor that didn't aim at insulting or hurting anyone, and the story, while exaggerated, was something anyone who's been involved in a wedding or has faced meeting the new family could probably identify with. It was good, clean, family-oriented fun. People couldn't stay away from the theaters showing it - when we saw it, it was only playing one theater here in Phoenix, but it was clearly a sold out showing. Seemingly everyone enjoyed this movie, told everyone else about it, and in the end it doubled, tripled, quadrupled it's $5 million cost so many times that it'll probably never be topped. Of course, something this big can't be left alone, and CBS jumped on it like a tiger on free meat to produce a series.

My Big Fat Greek Life premiered last night featuring nearly everyone from the film, except for John Corbett, who claims he already had another series lined up. Me, I think he took one look at the script and tossed it in the trash. Greek Life, as I expected, fell completely flat from the moment it faded in. The acting was hammy, the jokes were forced, and the entire thing came across like a high school play - actors overdoing everything in cringe-worthy performances. In the transition to TV, the big hit of last summer lost everything that made it so successful. But really, is this such a surprise? And following Everybody Loves Raymond makes it look that much more pale in comparison. Unless there are some serious changes in future episodes, I wouldn't count on this making it much past this season.

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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