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    My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    The good news is that “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” is not the abomination I expected it to be. Is it a bad movie? I wouldn’t go that far. I also wouldn’t say that it’s good. Just as I feared, it’s a sequel that didn’t need to be made and appears only to have been conceived to leech off of the audience’s sense of nostalgia.

    It’s been 17 years since Toula (Nia Vardalous) and Ian (John Corbett) have been married. Their daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) is getting ready to go to college, something that has Toula, Ian and every single Portokalos family member very flustered. While Toula and Ian attempt to rekindle the romance in their marriage and guide their daughter towards the right school, they find themselves in the middle of another Big Fat Greek Wedding. Turns out Toula’s parents were never actually legally wed thanks to a missing signature.

    I can think of no better visual representation of what this film is than the movie poster. I realize it’s an homage to the first film, since the layout is basically the same, but that’s the problem. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” is too similar to the first picture. It’s a story of 2 parents who are struggling to figure out how to handle their daughter possibly moving away and wanting to make a path for herself that gets frequently edged out by the earnest but sometimes annoying (not to mention bizarre) customs and eccentricities of the extended Greek family. Yes there re a few new things. 17-year-old Paris for example, and the fact that instead of Toula getting married it’s her mother, but those are trivial compared to what’s stayed the same.

    Why did this movie need to be made? Was there anything about “MBFGW” that screamed, “What happens next?! ” I don’t think so, but let’s assume that it did. Why did the plot of this film have to be about a wedding? It’s like this franchise is doomed to repeat itself instead of advancing. It reminds me of the “Taken” franchise. I love that first movie. The only problem with it? The title. In every sequel to “Taken”, someone needs to be “Taken”! Instead of moving forward, we’re just shuffling plot points around and the film plays like a “best of” the franchise instead of actually being innovative or imaginative.

    There are elements of this sequel that I like. The portions of the story where it’s romantic are quite good. Nia Vardalos and John Crobett still have terrific chemistry. When they go out on dates or reminisce about the days when they were first getting together, the film is a delight. I also enjoyed the scenes with Elena Kampouris as Paris. On the surface Toula & Ian’s situation is very similar to the predicament that Gus (Toula’s father, played by Michael Constantine) and Maria (her mother, played by Lainie Kazan) faced, but there’s more to it than that. Toula wants to be a different kind of parent than the one she has, but how different should she be? Like in the first story there are moments were you can see that the intentions are good but things are done the wrong way. It makes for drama that’s relatable, genuine. That’s good stuff.

    I think my biggest disappointment with “MBFGW 2” is that there’s not a lot of innovation or imagination here. It’s been 14 years since the first film, and this is the story we get? A contrived plot where two people who have been married for 50 years suddenly have to organize a wedding? That’s phoney! Give me something real! How about Toula and Ian travel to Greece in order for her to “get back to her roots” (she was a travel agent so that makes sense) or them debating whether or not they want to raise their daughter as a Greek, or as an American? How about being confronted by someone who is a “true Greek”, someone who lives in Greece instead of the U. S. ? Anything but these lame jokes that feel like rejected leftovers from the first film. Gus struggling to learn how to use a computer? “Normal” people getting flustered over eccentric wedding demands? That’s weak. Combine that with the realization that Toula has lost all of the character development she accumulated from the first film and finds herself working in the Greek restaurant and it makes the whole thing look desperate.

    I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge fan of the original “Big Fat Greek Wedding”. I find the joke where every single thing in the world can be traced back to some kind of Greek root annoying and pompous. The stereotypes are a bit too extreme for me. But I like everything else. I get why it was a big deal when it came out. There are families like that, families with weird customs that you can’t understand unless you’re biologically related to them. “MBFGW” also has a really strong love plot. Fans will be disappointed with this follow-up. This film does not rewarded your love for these characters. HBO, Gold Circle Films and Playtone have churned out a cheap repeat that doesn’t give you any new information about this family, and no new jokes either. The film is harmless, there are moments where it is funny and it is frequently charming, but I can’t recommend it. There’s nothing in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” that’s worth you making the effort of seeking it out and watching it, not when you already own the first. (Theatrical version on the big screen, March 26, 2016)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  27.3.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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