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"My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" Facebook page[/caption]
The sequel to the beloved American romantic comedy, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” directed by Kirk Jones and written by Nia Vardalos was released on March 25.
In this sequel, Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) are now the very irritable and traditionalist parents they were escaping from in the first film, dealing with the tape-à-l’oeil Greek family issues while preparing for another wild wedding.
As it turns out, Gus and Maria Portokalos, the grandparents, discovered through a technicality that their priest never signed their wedding certificate, prompting them to rectify the fact.
For the fans of the first film, a sequel like this was unnecessary because the motive was clearly monetary rather than creative.
There are three plots within the movie which might make it difficult for viewers to decide which one to focus on.
While the first movie was filled with stereotypes associated with being Greek, which did innocently add to the comedy, the sequel solely amplifies these stereotypes for viewership.
In this sequel, a brief moment of joy passes quickly, only to be replaced with a thin plot about exploring people who have moved to very different parts of their life, but are not given the time to rightfully express it.
Make no mistake, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” has its moments.
Such moments are unexpectedly found during the last minutes of the film, where it reminds us of the importance of close family relationships and finding the courage to live the life you want while still making room for the people you care about.
The sequel picks up the story a decade and a half on, but while the characters have grown, they remain recognizable.
The sentimental callbacks and the truthful and compelling moments when Toula interacts with Paris, remind us that these characters are human (a factor that’s in short supply in Hollywood nowadays).
Overall, the charm and heart, which made the original such an unexpected success are arguably intact and while there is a great disregard to character development in the script, the ambiance as well as mood will most likely overshadow those flaws.
And so, you’ll leave the theater knowing that you could have undoubtedly done worse.
Perle Desir can be reached at perle.desir@student.shu.edu.
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