Directed by: Kirk Jones
Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Louis Mandylor, Joey Fatone, Andrea Martin, Elena Kampouris
I didn't like the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), so why did I think I would enjoy the sequel which no one was clamoring for? I guess because with movies, you never know. But, I soon realized My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 would contain all of the elements that made the first one so annoying. Both movies manage to stretch their one joke well beyond any plausibility. The joke: How meddlesome, but loving, the Greek family of both films is. They absolutely run roughshod over poor Toula (Vardalos) and her maddeningly passive husband Ian (Corbett), whom she married in the first film. You would think in the ensuing years between films that Ian would have found a way to run away from this family as fast he could, but that requires energy. Poor Ian, like Toula, are more like textbook cases of Stockholm Syndrome.
Toula and Ian are back, with a high school senior age daughter who is debating whether to go away to college and leave her family behind. Toula and Ian want her to stay put. The daughter, Paris (Kampouris) isn't so sure. And for good reason. Her extended family seems to show up at every function and high school event as one big mass of humanity. They huddle so close together that the concept of personal space is lost on them. They all (usually at least six people) run towards the object of their affection with their arms outstretched like one big blob. The victim, er, family member reacts to this with the repulsion of someone having his face licked by a dog when he doesn't like dogs.
There is more. It turns out Toula's parents (Kazan and Constantine) were never legally married since the priest who performed the ceremony didn't sign the marriage certificate. The mother isn't sure she wants to remarry her husband of 50 years since he is a lunatic who (like in the first film) sprays Windex on everything to clean, even things that Windex likely would not work on. But, since the words "Greek wedding" are in the title, we know they will come around and marry. Ugh.
Paris seems like a sensible girl who knows her family is smothering and has a chance to break the cycle of having her life ruled by these loud maniacs. Her mother and father simply accept their family with the patience of saints, even when their behavior is completely unacceptable. Also, Toula's brother may or may not be gay. And Pop's long lost brother appears. Trying to shoehorn these subplots into this mess is a fool's errand, but Vardalos (who wrote the script) tries.
The final half hour or so cuts back and forth between Paris' prom and the wedding, both of which were scheduled for the same day, (much to Paris' relief, I'm sure). You would think that Paris' prom coinciding with the wedding day would cause Toula to suggest rescheduling by one day or so. There is a contrived stall in the nuptials which only serves to delay the inevitable wedding and reception. Oh, and there is Pop's obsession with the possibility that he is a direct descendant of Alexander the Great. I'm sure Alexander would be thrilled that one of his descendants is a guy who sprays Windex on everything.
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