I Hate Valentine’s Day (2009) Movie Review

Cast: Nia Vardalos as Genevieve Gernier and John Corbett as Greg Gatlin. Yes, there were many other characters, but the website I went to only had these two names.

MOVIE TRAILER

Pros: For romantic comedies, I’ve always enjoyed watching couples who have starred together in other movies (Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks). This is one of them. Nia Vardalos and John Corbett have an easy going and natural chemistry onscreen that makes you laugh and relate to them without any effort. The story is fun, light hearted, funny and the characters have a great comedic timing (which is essential in any romantic comedies). Comedic timing not only in physical aspects, but in dialogue takes practice and necessary for the scene to work. The fact that this movie takes place in New York City (Brooklyn) around a flower shop is right up my alley. In fact, any movie that takes place near a flower shop or book store has my attention immediately. The audio is clear throughout the movie which is always a plus. Other than those mentioned above, this was a great movie to watch.

Cons: I did not notice any cons with this movie.

Cinematography: Brian Pryzpek was the Director of Photography. Simple pans and colorful elements were positively structured throughout the movie.

Music score: The music score of different artists were nicely sewn into scenes without taking away from the characters important dialogue. The usual and quick melody to make a scene funnier was nicely put. I call these quick melodies “tip toe music” because of the simple note sounds.

Favorite quotes:

“Sorry, I didn’t read your instruction manual.”

“You act like you live in the opening credits of some French film, you control everything so it doesn’t turn into something real.”

“I like French films.”

“Well, they’re not real, just like you!”

Audience reaction: I laughed several times the first time I saw this a few months ago. I quickly rewatched it tonight and still laughed. A good, simple and light hearted movie for any romantic at heart movie viewer.

Relatebility: I think most girls in their life time go through a phase where they think they are unstoppable and in control of their emotions at all times. No man can break their heart or sweep them off their feet. Until that one special guy comes along and breaks even the most stubborn bachelorette. The girl then thinks, “What? What is happening? I’m not in control of my emotions anymore! This is insanity!” So, they either fight it or just melt like butter under the guy’s spell. Like I said earlier, this is a cute movie and despite the title of the movie, a sweet movie to watch with your sweetheart today. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) Movie Review

Cast: Nia Vardalos plays a 30 year old Greek woman named Toula Portokalos who is looking for love, but at the same time trying to understand her Greek roots and traditions. John Corbett playes Ian Miller, a High School teacher who is not Greek, yet falls in love with Toula and wants to be accepted by her family. Ian Gomez plays, Mike, Ian Miller’s bestfriend. Michael Constantine plays Gus Portokalos, Toula’s very Greek father who is steadfast in marrying his daughter off to a Greek man. Lainie Kazan plays Maria Portokalos, Toula’s very well meaning, but loud mother.

Basic movie facts: One night Rita Wilson saw Nia’s one woman stand up comedy show about her life as a Greek woman and decided to make her standup live into a movie. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are two of the movie producers of this movie. Ian Gomez who plays “Mike”  is Nia’s (Toula) real life husband. Many of the extras who played family characters  in the movie are real life relatives of Nia and Ian’s family. I recognized Ian Gomez in this movie only because he was in one of my favorite tv shows called “Felicity” where he played a gay guy. John Corbett I obviously knew from Sex in the City, duh.

Pros: This movie is one of my top 10 favorite romantic/comedy movies of all time. I laughed out loud throughout the entire movie which is a good sign that this movie could keep my attention. The dialogue was fun, funny and sarcastic. Nia’s narration was not too much and you could sense her personality through it as a result. One scene I thought was funny was when Toula served Ian’s (John Corbett) coffee cup leaving Ian Gomez looking at his real life wife (Nia=Toula), like, ok….whatever! I just thought that was such a funny scene!

Cons: None. It’s in my top 10, so all movies face immunity in this case.

Music score:  Original music was produced by Alexander Janko and Chris Wilson.

Favorite quote: There were so many quotes I wanted to use, but this one was crazy and funny at the same time. Aunt Voula: [to Ian’s parents] “Now, you are family. Okay. All my life, I had a lump at the back of my neck, right here. Always, a lump. Then I started menopause and the lump got bigger from the “hormonees.” It started to grow. So I go to the doctor, and he did the bio… the b… the… the bios… the… b… the “bobopsy.” Inside the lump he found teeth and a spinal cord. Yes. Inside the lump was my twin.”

Audience reaction: It was only me watching (with you out there, of course). I laughed and laughed! I hope you did too.

Relatability: The reason why I love this movie so much is because I can easily relate to Toula and her personality. There is a scene where she meets “Ian” in the travel agency and she forgets that her headset is on and she walks away only to be yanked back by her headset cord and falls to the floor. That is something that would happen to me. I can be such a dork sometimes. I’m also very shy when it comes to guys I like; I’ll hide behind something if I know he’s looking straight at me or cover my face with the dinner menu at a restaurant (that has actually happened on several occasions). I know that seems shocking to those who say I appear extremely outgoing, but I do have a very shy side to me when it comes to guys I am attracted to.  There is also a scene where Toula asks Ian why he likes her and that is something I find myself asking guys who have been my boyfriends. Sometimes I get a little insecure and just have to ask them why me? All these girls out there and you love me? Why? Haha. I found that scene very sweet and sentimental. John Corbett’s character, Ian, is a combination of all the great qualities of guys I have dated or have had as boyfriends in the past. The guys I’ve dated in the past have come from Holland, Russia, Sweden, Egypt and the United Kingdom. They have all shared their culture with me and I’ve learned about theirs. At the end, you can’t stop love no matter where they come from. It is up to us to look beyond our differences and get alone. We can each learn something from each others culture. Overall, this is a cute movie and not something to over analyze or else it will take away from the funny and sweetness of it. I recommend this movie to anyone!

 

*To see the entire movie, look at the blog post before this one.

Another movie date with you….

Hello kiddies!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a full movie on any of my blogs, but tonight is your lucky night! Tonight *you* and I will watch this together. Sounds fun, right? Ok, so let’s get comfy and watch this movie. The last movie date I had with you was last year and it was called “A Simple Curve” which you can still find somewhere in my blogs. Check it out if you can find it. 😉 I must confess. I already watched this movie earlier and will most likely be writing up my movie review as you watch this. It’s a cute movie! See you on my next blog post!