30 Day Movie Challenge Day 3: a movie that makes me happy

There are a lot of films that make me happy, which is why I adore cinema so much.  But if I had to settle on one film that makes me happy, it's probably going to end up My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I was told that I could get extra credit in my Anthropology 101 class if I watched this film, which I missed while I was on my mission.  I adore movies so I thought it a win-win.  Little did I know how enjoyable the film would be and how it would grow on me over time.  The professor of Anthropology thought that this would be a great intro to clashing cultures.  It's that and more.

This film's story of how it was produced is just as good as the film itself.  Here are the bullet points of the story:

• Nia Vardalos (the star of the film) wrote a one woman play about her experience marrying an non-Greek and performed it in L.A.  (FYI, the bald guy meeting the male lead at the restaurant in the beginning is her real life husband and the experience of marrying him is what inspired the play)  
• The play was quite successful, mostly due to her one-woman marketing machine targeting Greek Orthodox Churches in the valley.  
• She wanted to make a film out of it, but all the producers/executives she approached wanted to make MAJOR changes (they wanted to make the family Hispanic and not Greek, for example)
• Tom Hanks somehow found the script and called Nia about making the film as is (Hanks said that having her star in it made the film very authentic).  His production company, Playtone, financed it. 
• The budget was about $5 million and it went on to gross $368 million, making it one of the best investments EVER with a return of approximately 6150%.

But beyond all this fun trivia, the film is absolutely delightful!  The meeting of two cultures is so much fun and very relatable to me as a Mormon.  I grin from ear to ear every time I watch it.  If you haven't seen it, I own it.  It's a remarkable film.