The female gaze of My Big Fat Greek Wedding

I had never realized just how much of My Big Fat Greek Wedding is told from the female gaze until watching it last night for the first time in 10 years. It's groundbreaking, really.

Yes, there's a makeover sequence, but Toula's glow-up isn't tied to objectification — instead, it's directly a result of her growing confidence as an educated woman. Yes, she gets together with Ian after said glow-up, but he makes it clear that he noticed her beforehand, while laughing at her joke when they first met at the family restaurant. Yes, Toula's family, and father in particular, are sexist and old-fashioned, but the film passes the Bechdel test in spades.

What's more, there's only two scenes that show skin — and said skin belongs to John Corbett's Ian. Even his proposal is so delicate and lovely — he is literally looking up to Toula during the scene.

It's hard to believe such a film could make such a splash one whole year before, say, the very male gaze-y Love Actually. And we still struggle to see rom-coms pass the Bechdel test. Maybe we should splash some Windex on 'em.