Hallmark's predictable movie formula is as cozy as a warm blanket or your favorite sweatshirt, but as much as we love it, we eventually need something a little different to spice things up.
Brand execs promised that script writers would be given creative license to explore new approaches to storytelling, and Love's Greek to Me delivers.
Image: Hallmark Media
What Is Love's Greek to Me About?
Ilana (Torrey Devitto) and her Greek boyfriend Mike (Yannis Tsimitselis) live in Boston and have been dating for two years. When the two fly to Greece to attend his sister's wedding, Mike surprises Illana by proposing. While she delightedly accepts, the trip presents many challenges to their relationship.
Ilana must face her fears of abandonment. Since her father left her mother when Ilana was a small child, she holds back emotionally, and despite Mike's love and assurances, she struggles to trust that her marriage won't suffer the same fate. As a result, Mike grows increasingly miffed that she's so guarded.
The return to his homeland dredges up so many feelings for Mike that he questions whether or not he wants to return to a life in America. In Greece, Mike is reminded of the importance of his heritage, his large family, his Greek Orthodox faith, the family business, and the richness of his culture and tradition. Ilana is shocked to learn that Mike has never felt "seen" in America and just feels like "Greek Mike."
The biggest conflict involves Mike's overbearing mother, Athena (Marina Sirtis) who tries to control her children's lives while they act powerless to set boundaries--except for Ilana, the independent American.
Can you imagine having a mother-in-law like Athena? Image: Hallmark Media
Will Mike and Ilana be able to reconcile their cultural, geographical, and emotional conflicts and preserve their love, or will they find their differences are insurmountable?
Relax, it's Hallmark, so you can expect a happy ending.
Love's Greek to Me Includes a Parallel Story from Greek Mythology
You'll notice hat tips in the movie to My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Mama Mia!, but the best allusion is to a story from Greek mythology.
Ilana is an archeology professor who joins her friend (who just happens to be moving back to the States) at a dig site in Greece. What they unearth is an ancient artifact featuring Eros, Psyche, and Aphrodite.
The myth behind these three characters is reflective of the same dynamic shared by Mike, Ilana, and Athena.
Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty, and she grew jealous when people stopped worshipping her because they became so enamored with Psyche, who was the most beautiful human woman on Earth. Aphrodite sent her son, Eros (or Cupid), to make Psyche fall in love with the vilest creature he could find, but when Eros saw her, he, too, fell in love with her and made her his wife, but he wouldn't allow Psyche to see him.
Curious, Psyche lit a candle to see her husband while he was sleeping. Feeling betrayed by her lack of trust, Eros left her, and Psyche was so distraught that she prayed to Aphrodite and asked her to persuade Eros to return to her. The jealous goddess assigned three impossible tasks to Psyche to prove her love for Eros.
When Eros heard about his mother's cruelty, his wound of betrayal was healed, and he returned to Psyche, who convinced him to forgive his mother. As a wedding gift, Zeus gave Psyche immortality. With Psyche living in the air with her husband, men on Earth forgot about her and began worshipping Aphrodite again, so the story ends happily.
Similarly, Ilana's lack of trust in Mike almost causes him to break up with her, but Athena intervenes and reunites the two, despite all her initial meddling, and no hard feelings remain.
Love's Greek to Me Shares an Interesting Perspective on Cultural Differences
Most people take their culture for granted. How we are raised feels "normal" and "standard," but when it comes to love, cultural differences can be a huge source of conflict in a relationship.
Hallmark writers explore how differences can be harmonized.
Ilana is taken aback by the magnitude of how Mike's Greek culture impacts him. In Boston, he seems like an ordinary American, but in Greece, his ethnicity provides a glaringly stark contrast to her own.
Mike promises to set boundaries with his mother but can't bring himself to do it. When his mother expands her hotel business, she makes him and his sister partners, and they feel obligated to comply. It's only with Ilana's urging that Alexandra (Mike's sister) insists on altering wedding plans to suit her tastes rather than her mother's, like choosing her favorite flowers for the ceremony and re-working her wedding gown.
Mike wants a Greek Orthodox wedding, and Ilana wants a small one by the beach. Image: Hallmark Media
Ilana finds the expected adherence to so many Greek traditions a bit overwhelming, and it makes her realize that Americans really don't place much emphasis on custom. Greeks center on the past, and Americans focus on the present and individualism.
Athena is puzzled by American ways. Greeks are always late to functions, so she can't grasp the concept of "respecting people's time" and says the idea is "so American."
Another American concept Athena can't understand is the need for "alone time." Greeks love to be surrounded by and intimately involved with their families, even in situations where Americans would want them to "but out."
Ilana tells Alexandra that her mom is her best friend, and Mike's sister is envious. Alex admits to Athena that she wishes she could be her best friend too, and Athena says she's not her friend--she's her mother!
We don't learn the exact details of how Ilana and Mike plan to bridge the gap and meet in the middle to protect their love, but we know they will find a way!
Love's Greek to Me Is Worth Watching!
This movie is worth saving on the DVR. Not only is the Santorini Island setting breathtaking, but there's also plenty of fun banter, perfectly orchestrated tension, and LOADS of chemistry between the co-stars.
The chemistry between Mike and Ilana is palpable! Image: Hallmark Media
Some viewers express that the clash between Ilana and Athena overshadows the romance. They might be right, but it keeps the movie interesting.
For example, when Athena tries to force Ilana to go wedding dress shopping, Ilana is emphatic that her mother will be making her dress. That doesn't stop Athena from buying and altering a wedding gown for Ilana anyway, but Ilana confronts her and tells her to return the dress. The best part about these minor skirmishes throughout the movie is how Ilana is spunky, clear, and firm each time she confronts Athena, but she remains kind and works to preserve the relationship when most of us would be tempted to cut Athena out of our lives and hop the first plane back to America!
Athena is a master manipulator when it comes to putting her children on a guilt trip when they don't immediately acquiesce to her demands. In one scene she states, "I'm just a silly old Greek widow who loves her children too much." Sirtis is a wonderful actress who manages to make you love and hate her at the same time. Athena ultimately redeems herself by learning to curtail her meddling ways.
Word of caution: you may crave baklava by the movie's end.
This Fun Fact Might Surprise You...
Did you have any trouble understanding Tsimitselis' dialogue with his thick accent?
Interestingly, Tsimitselis can speak English, but he's not fluent, which made learning his lines very difficult.
One thing's sure, we Hallmark fans have another heart throb to add to our lists!
Tsimitselis is such a charming hunk! Image: Hallmark Media
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