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Nia Vardalos isn’t the one getting married this time
C- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, the sequel to Nia Vardalos‘ charming romantic comedy smash hit of 2002, doesn’t feel like a sequel so much as the finale of a long running television series like M*A*S*H or Lost. Those with fond memories of the original movie, however, may recall that it actually was adapted into a 2003 TV series that lasted all of seven episodes. Unfortunately, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 demonstrates over and over why all the charm wore off after seven episodes.
Nia Vardalos returns as Toula, the bride at the first wedding, who has now been married 17 years. Her extended Greek family is as close-knit as ever and are shocked to learn that Toula’s mom Maria (Lainie Kazan) and dad Gus (Michael Constantine) have never been legally married due to a clerical error on the marriage certificate. The solution is to hold another big fat Greek wedding, but first, Maria has to decide if Gus is worth marrying a second time.
The original Big Fat Greek Wedding was based on a highly personal screenplay by Vardalos that reflected her deep ethnic pride and family identity, along with the angst of a single woman approaching that age and some zany anecdotes based on her own relatives. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 reduces all of that to a barrage of sitcom humor, heavy on the booze, PG-13 sex, and addled elderly relative jokes. Some of it is funny, the first time, but the punchlines from the first movie (such as Gus’s omnipresent Windex bottle) are repeated endlessly. Further, it seems as if every single member of the gigantic ensemble cast has to appear and be given something to do in every scene. Toula, her husband Ian (John Corbett) and teenage daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) struggle to find screen time, even though Paris’ storylines are the freshest in the movie. The movie still manages some sweet moments (Kazan and Constantine have great chemistry together), but they tend to get drowned out in all the bustle and noise. All too often, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 isn’t an event you’d like to attend, but, rather, your next door neighbor’s blaring party that keeps you awake all night.
In this scene, college night for Elena Kampouris daughter turns into a nightmare when the whole family shows up. Our full review of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is now available on Silver Screen Cinema.
Photo credit: “CFC in LA 43” by Canadian FIlm Centre (Mark Sullivan) / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
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