A Rom-Com Franchise That Needs to End

In 2002, became a genuine phenomenon. Written by and starring the then-little-known Nia Vardalos, the film its modest $5 million budget at the domestic box office, and remained in theaters for an entire year. As formulaic as the plot may have been—a woman falls for a man with a different background—the script was clever, coupling familiar romantic-comedy tropes with culture-clash humor. Clichés about the Greek American lifestyle blanketed the script, but they charmed thanks to an enthusiastic ensemble cast. As my colleague Megan Garber , the movie “was a big hunk of baklava: layered, nutty, shockingly sweet.”