Starting off our RomCom Comfort Food with My Big Fat Greek Wedding feast of love

Welcome to the opening of LRG's new cinematic cafe ,RomCom Comfort Food, where you can safely social distance and enjoy a lovely movie meal straight from the heart.

The first item on our movie menu is My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a film that holds a special place in my memory as one of the first movies that I ever saw on a plane.

Back in the summer of 2002, I was heading home from England, having spent one of the greatest weeks of my life visiting Jane Austen sites with a group of Austen admirers known as The Republic of Pemberley.

 Since this was not only the first time that I've gone outside of the US but also been on a plane, my initial flight over was a tad hectic. However, my trip home was much calmer, allowing me to relax and watch a couple of movies to pass the time. My first pick was a recent version of The Importance of Being Earnest(starring Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth!) and the other was this sleeper hit that I didn't have the chance to see before my trip.

If any movie is perfect for seeing as you're heading home to America, this romcom certainly is , in my opinion. Our leading lady is Toula(Nia Vardalos, who also wrote the screenplay)Portokalos, a thirty year old woman in Chicago that feels trapped in her "dutiful daughter" role amid her large,loud and very loving Greek family.

Working at the family restaurant one fateful morning, she's lovestruck by a random customer, Ian Miller(John Corbett),the type of guy that her relatives would never approve of her dating due to the fact that he's not Greek. Yet a small spark seems to be lit between them during that brief encounter:

They do meet again, well after Toula decides to change her life by taking some computer courses that qualify her to work at her Aunt Voula's(played by the delightful Andrea Martin) travel agency.

I like that Toula giving herself a makeover and getting more education isn't about landing a man-it's more about finding a better place for herself in the world. I also love how her mother(Lainie Kazan) gives her an assist with old school tactics.

Granted, her mom does want Toula to get married and have babies just like her traditionally minded father only wants her to, yet her mother can see and appreciate that her daughter needs a bit more out of life there. Her methods may be manipulative but they do work out well for all concerned. At one point in the film, Toula's mother tells her "I gave you life so that you could live it!" and she's as good as her word:

Meanwhile, Ian spots Toula at the travel agency and their relationship is kept on the down low in the beginning, due to her family's feelings about romance with a non-Greek.

Eventually, the truth comes out and while there's grief from her father, Toula's family does comes around when it's announced that they're getting married. That sets off a new pack of problems as her family's over the top plans for the wedding get bigger by the minute, with a huge party to welcome Ian's rather staid parents gets overwhelming to say the least(the bundt cake bit is too much fun!).

Nonetheless, they do get married and while Toula still harbors doubt about Ian going through all of this for her, my favorite scene in the movie erases all such worries for me. It's their first date and he asks Toula if she would like to go out for Greek food at " Zorba's something" and she quickly declines. She then explains that Dancing Zorba's is owned by her family, which she hopes he doesn't recall her from.

Oh, but he does with "I remember you!" said in a delighted,dreamy way. She starts telling him about how she was "Frump Girl" back then and he responses with "I don't remember Frump Girl but I remember you." *sigh* Yes, I know , he may seem too good to be true yet with sincere lines like that and later on when Toula asks him why he would marry someone like her and he replies with "Because I came alive when I met you."...that is such a Jane Austen worthy thing to say!:

Early on, I said that this is a good movie to watch while returning to America and my reason for that statement is that this is not just a romance between two people.

It's about two very different families coming together to form one loving unit. Sure, not everyone gets along all of the time but being united on the main things in life is what helps to get over the rough spots, which is the true American way, if you ask me.

 Even the most resistant person to this marriage, Toula's father with his "give me any word and I'll show you the Greek root of that word(even kimono doesn't faze him as a challenge!)" finds a way to accept Ian and his "dry toast" family. During the wedding reception, he points out that their family name Portokalos means orange and the root word for Miller is apple which leads him to proclaim "apples, oranges, we're all different but in the end, we're all fruit!" No truer words are spoken here.

MBFGW was indeed a surprise smash at the box office(much thanks to Tom Hanks, who produced the film and given his own romance with his lovely Greek wife Rita Wilson, perhaps related quite a bit to this story) and yet, despite a short lived sitcom and a much later in time sequel, this is where the story really ends. I think that's best ,since Toula's tale of finding true love,self love and family love is perfectly complete within it's self:

I do hope that you all had a good time with this first of four film love fests to come this August. I must confess that all of these selections have a personal to me Jane Austen connection and while that may not be easy to see at first, trust me-I will point that out!

Next week's menu is preparing a 25th anniversary platter of Clueless, flavored with 90's flair and a satirical sauce of Jane Austen snarky goodness.

Yes, comparisons to Jane Austen's Emma will be made but do not despair, there will be plenty of lighthearted teen humor on hand to snack on as well: