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My (big Fat Greek) Return

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''Whatever,'' she says. ''CBS wrecked the show and then tried to blame me for it. Kar-ma!'' (A network spokesman responded that ''to suggest we didn't want it to work in any way is patently absurd.'') Vardalos does have her supporters: ''Nia is a great and talented lady,'' said the show's executive producer David Richardson in an e-mail. Lainie Kazan, who played Vardalos' mother on the big and small screens, says she has real affection for her ''delicious and delightful'' costar. ''I think that Nia did become...it could be interpreted as difficult,'' she concedes. ''But to be honest with you, I understood it, having so much success that you lose your equilibrium. She was overwhelmed by what happened to her. And if she did create some problems, soooo?!''

After all this melodrama, what a relief then to enjoy the calm of the Connie and Carla shoot. Vardalos says she and director Michael Lembeck (Santa Clause 2) worked well together because they both refuse to tolerate any bad behavior. ''I think Nia created a very loose set,'' applauds David Duchovny, who plays Vardalos' love interest. ''She was very supportive and encouraging, not intimidated or insecure.'' He also waves away the diva claims. ''I'm sure people have said the same about me and I'm not [a diva]. You have bad days or you step on somebody's toes, and rumors start.'' Alec Mapa, who plays a drag queen in the movie, trusts his instincts about his new fast friend: ''Somebody can be really great on the outside, but if your stomach is telling you otherwise, you know. You can smell it.''

Last summer, after the Vancouver Connie and Carla shoot wrapped, Vardalos rented a beach house in Malibu for a few weeks to get her weary head right. No work, no press, no scripts, nothing. Away from it all, she says she finally decided to stop fretting over her reputation. ''I could have really spent years of my life trying to clear up every rumor.'' (''Mmm-hmm,'' purrs the pedicurist, slapping her client's calves.) ''And I got to say,'' the actress continues, ''I knew that we would go from being the underdog to suddenly people looking for dirt.''

Vardalos has her eye on roles in two upcoming romantic comedies, neither of which she wrote or plans on executive-producing. In the meantime, she says she won't waste energy worrying about how her new movie will stack up against its big Greek sister. If her blockbuster days are behind her, well, she's had a nice run. ''I fear losing my health. I fear losing my family. I don't fear being a one-hit wonder because hey, one hit, that's a lot!''