The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: My Big Fat Greek Wedding

written by Nia Vardalos

(based on a single theater viewing)


My Big Fat Greek Wedding is an entertaining light comedy with few surprises but lots of charm and a big heart.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook
    • A Greek father to his 30 year-old unmarried daughter: you are getting old and need to marry a good Greek boy.
  2. Complication
    • Since childhood the daughter has rebelled against her family and Greek background.
  3. Call to Action
    • She betters herself by going to computer school and taking over the extended family's travel agency.
  4. Act One Plot Point
    • She meets a guy and starts dating.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point
    • He askes her to marry her -- and although he's not Greek, she says yes.
  6. Act Two Plot Point
    • The father thinks the marriage can never work -- their roots are too different.
  7. Climax and Resolution
    • The father notes that although they are apples and oranges, at least they are both fruit. It can work. He buys them a house as a wedding present -- right next door to his.

Notes

The low point is really not very low but it hardly matters amidst all the fun.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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10/02