I always thought the wedding scene in this movie was anti semitic...making them all seem so vulgar. Eating like pigs and dancing like crazy people. I have a feeling that this might have been part of the film's popularity....it made non jewish people feel so superior. To be honest a Jewish wedding is a loving, generous affair and some of the non jewish weddings I have been to (in various vfw halls and american legions) are vulgar.
shareSo your theory is that Philip Roth, Arnold Schulman, and Larry Peerce are anti-semites. And that in 1969 people were so caught up in anti-semitism that they were willing to sit through a two-hour movie (and read Roth's book) about a romance between two young Jewish people from opposite ends of the economic scale, just to see a vaguely demeaning wedding reception sequence. And that seeing this wedding, which as you point out is not that much different than most wilder wedding receptions, made them feel superior to Jewish people. So how do you like being the center of the universe?
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My dad, rest his soul, had a saying. "Those who are looking to get their feelings hurt, generally do." Teaandoranges, you seem to be such a person.
shareI think this "anti-semitic" term gets thrown around too easily. Don't forget that Arabs are semitic also.
shareExactly...lighten up. I've been to Jewish weddings...some were just like the one portrayed in the film, and others have been rather subdued (more than I would have expected, for ANY wedding).
I think the wedding in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was COMPLETELY over the top. I've been to Greek weddings as well, and not one Greek I know would be caught DEAD in light blue bridesmaid dresses and wear disgusting, heavy make-up. But, it was a movie....take it with a HUGE grain of salt.
I've never been to a Jewish wedding, but I've been to a lot of Italian weddings. Judging from the the movie, they are very much alike: just different food. As to the dancing...maybe it's all the wine. Besides, maybe the director was exaggerating to make a point. I didn't think it was vulgar, just unrestrained.
shareThe wedding is vulgar but not because of the ethnicity of the characters. Remember Mr. Patimkin is a self-made man. He is trying to impress by showing off his money out of insecurity. Therefore, the wedding is over the top, just like any event thrown by the "noveau rich" of any ethnic group.. Economic disparity is part of the theme of the movie. Mr. Patimkin was Neil Klugman two decades before. Wealth and social acceptance are very important to him (and to Brenda). Neil is more interested in being happy. That is why they eventually part ways.
Seize this day
VERY well said, arirod! You are exactly right. Mr. Roth was indeed making fun of the newly-rich and the wedding scenes are my favorite.
shareThe wedding is vulgar but not because of the ethnicity of the characters. Remember Mr. Patimkin is a self-made man. He is trying to impress by showing off his money out of insecurity. Therefore, the wedding is over the top, just like any event thrown by the "noveau rich" of any ethnic group.. Economic disparity is part of the theme of the movie. Mr. Patimkin was Neil Klugman two decades before. Wealth and social acceptance are very important to him (and to Brenda). Neil is more interested in being happy. That is why they eventually part ways.
Seize this day
The behavior at the wedding was due more to imbibing of spirits than any attempt to stereotype any ethnic group.
I have been to all kinds of weddings and they have different moods.
All ethnic groups are the same when poop-faced plastered drunk.
Right you are! The whole movie was great, but that wedding-----laugh-out-loud funny!!
shareIt always makes me laugh that my generation (about the same as this movie) rolled our sophisticated eyes at our vulgar Jewish nouveau riche families and at the same time gushed over 'authentic' peasant cultures somewhere else in the world. The irony is that these people were one remove from the shtetl and were behaving precisely like any peasants who suddenly make too much money!
share>>>>>>>>>>>>>Don't forget that Arabs are semitic also.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That's irrelevant. That's like saying "gay" also means "happy", so you should not say something is anti-gay unless you also means it's against, not only homosexuals, but against happiness. Uh, no.
If something is anti-Arab, we say it's anti-Arab. If it's anti-Jewish, it's anti-semitic. Just get used to it.
You are right! This is all so silly. The wedding was meant as a crisis-point in Neil's and Brenda's relationship, as well as the climax (no pun intended) of Ron's and Harriet's long-distance romance. One couple is finally united and very happy, while the other is finding out that their romance is collapsing around their ears. A very sad scene as the wedding closes..... I cried.
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