Movie Premier: My Big Fat Armenian Family (Summer 08)

GK
Get ready to be amazed. There will be laughing. There will be crying. In a production that hits uncomfortably close to home, My Big Fat Armenian Family (MBFAF) ventures into rarely explored territory.

It is a movie where complex issues of second-generation youth are comically portrayed in a story about an Armenian family.

MBFAF is slated to premiere July 12 and 18 exclusively at Glendale High School.

The writer and director is University of California, San Diego Undergraduate Sevak Ohanian, who revealed that the full-length movie, including character development, plot writing, filming, editing, and promoting, took a year to complete.

What started with his short film by name of "The Hartsakoom – Secret Ending," developed into another mini-film entitled "True Life: I have Persian-Armenian Parents," and attracted huge attention on YouTube last year.

With all the hype surrounding the comical YouTube clips, one would expect anything less funny from the full-length film as it induces laughter from the very beginning.

The first scene of the movie shows the son Narbeh unwilling to get out of bed. Within seconds he has been nudged by his sister, threatened by his mother that she will call forth his father, and ultimately, the patriarchal figure himself appears. The father, Robert, forces his son out of bed after a series of threats resulting in a physical altercation.

That physical fight continues throughout the movie in the form of an emotional struggle between parent and child when it comes to understanding one another.

Ohanian has managed to capture issues that are prevalent in the diasporan youth today. Topics surrounding dating, troubled teens, and the disconnect between parent and child are all addressed by the movie.

One of the more serious themes that ironically earns the most laughs, is the portrayal of the Armenian parents as embarrassing. In one scene, the family is at a restaurant when the parents take out their own home-made food while their kids buy restaurant meals.

Another scene shows the parents’ incapability of properly communicating on the phone due to their poor grip on the English language, with hilarious results.

The more laughter is induced by the antics of the parents, the more apparent the generational gap between them and their children becomes.

This is especially true for diasporan societies who not only have a generational gap, but a social one as the parents often come from other countries with different cultural norms than in the United States.

Also, the presence of a strong patriarchal figure can be felt from the father, echoing the domestic structure of traditional Armenian families. The movie even gives a glimpse into the father’s past in the form of introspective flashbacks.

Ohanian explains that one has to look at the past in order to understand the future, and his filming style demonstrates this point.

Describing his roles as "confusing to this day," Ajmin Baghramian plays both parents, giving a strong comedic performance as well as easily selling the more heart-felt scenes. He has also been integral in plot and character development.

Baghramian’s amazing ability to impersonate a Persian-Armenian father is what propelled him to such success in the Armenian community.

"It is easy to laugh at the character because it is so familiar," University of California, Berkeley student Andre Arzoo said, "It definitely gave me a déjà vu of my own parents being unpleased with me."

Baghramian has the accent, gesturing, and even the scolding of his children down to a tee. But what is most amazing is his lack of acting experience. In fact, none of the actors have had any training or experience prior to MBFAF, including daughter Ramela, who is the real life sister of Ohanian.

The question of everyone’s mind seems to be whether or not the exaggerated characters in the movie are based on anyone’s real parents.

"Inspiration for the family members was drawn from a wide range of experiences, not specific parents or children," Baghramian said.

All family members have had major appeal with audiences.

Co-star Narbeh Yermian, playing the role of the troubled adolescent son, explained that "the characters were relatable and open to interpretation."

The ending will leave audiences emotionally touched, which is quite an impressive feat considering that the comedy gained a following due to its witty humor and talented lead actor.

Ohanian has since the making of the MBFAF been admitted to USC School of Cinematic Arts and is open to producing another film as long as there is interest.

Music for the movie was provided by Allen G of Psychotic Production and A. Chilla of Nuzik Entertainment contributed a track to the production.