In the current Hollywood where any movie is ripe for a sequel, fourteen is just a number, which is why 2002 sleeper hit, and the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, has produced a follow-up, with writer and star Nia Vardolas returning as Toula, once again trying to deal with her ‘crazy’ greek family. This time round, things get a bit ridiculous with the wedding actually being between Toula’s parents, due to a mistake being made with their marriage certificate fifty years prior. On top of that, Toula is dealing with marital issues with her husband Ian (John Corbett), that are aggravated by their teenage daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) wanting nothing to do with them or her extended family.
If that brief synopsis sounds like a bad sitcom, you’re right, and that’s the biggest problem with this movie. The plot is less an actual plot and more a string of contrivances that just keep the movie ticking over for a few more minutes. The humour is pretty much the same as the original, relying on pretty on the nose gags and stereotypes, and while it worked fourteen years ago, it doesn’t hold the same weight now. I wouldn’t call it a laughter wasteland, but they are pretty few and far between, and everything is pretty harmless, lacking any bite to keep your interest. The movie just trips its way from one comedy set piece to another, adding in numerous plot points in an almost episodic manner to keep the story going, from the family’s attempts to set up Paris to a nice Greek boy to Toula and Ian trying to rekindle their passions. But as the movie trundles on, they come thick and fast, and they just feel superfluous, especially the question of the sexuality of one of the Greek cousins which is handled with all the grace and subtlety of a tap dancing bear, and just fizzles out without adding much of anything to the movie.
You can’t really fault the cast really, they play their roles well enough, delivering the zingers when the zingers need to be delivered, and taking things down a gear when the script calls for it. But unfortunately they can’t save this ultimately charmless, but good natured, rehash of the much better original.
If that brief synopsis sounds like a bad sitcom, you’re right, and that’s the biggest problem with this movie. The plot is less an actual plot and more a string of contrivances that just keep the movie ticking over for a few more minutes. The humour is pretty much the same as the original, relying on pretty on the nose gags and stereotypes, and while it worked fourteen years ago, it doesn’t hold the same weight now. I wouldn’t call it a laughter wasteland, but they are pretty few and far between, and everything is pretty harmless, lacking any bite to keep your interest. The movie just trips its way from one comedy set piece to another, adding in numerous plot points in an almost episodic manner to keep the story going, from the family’s attempts to set up Paris to a nice Greek boy to Toula and Ian trying to rekindle their passions. But as the movie trundles on, they come thick and fast, and they just feel superfluous, especially the question of the sexuality of one of the Greek cousins which is handled with all the grace and subtlety of a tap dancing bear, and just fizzles out without adding much of anything to the movie.
You can’t really fault the cast really, they play their roles well enough, delivering the zingers when the zingers need to be delivered, and taking things down a gear when the script calls for it. But unfortunately they can’t save this ultimately charmless, but good natured, rehash of the much better original.
