Movie 411: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

Director: Kirk Jones
Screenplay: Nia Vardalos
Rated: PG-13
Released: March 25, 2016
The Hook: The first one was hilarious!

I mean, have you seen the first one? You don’t really need to see the first one before you watch this one, but I highly recommend that you do. It makes this one 10x funnier when you do. Vardalos did such a good job on the first one I couldn’t stay away from seeing this one.

 Recap!

The story focuses on Toula and Ian’s daughter, Paris, who is in her senior year and dealing with every day teenage things with a heaping of Greek heritage. Much like Toula when we first met her, Paris has had to deal with her entire Greek side of the family. They always have good intentions, of course, but you can’t run away. While Paris is dealing with college applications and her very Greek heritage, Toula has to face the fact that her baby is all grown up and dealing with very normal seperation issues with a heaping of Greek heritage. Add to that a shocking discovery and you have a very good time.

Verdict!

So we start with plot.

Oh gosh, what can I say? It was just as hilarious as the first one. You know how sometimes movie sequels are okay, but they seem to have lost their luster and don’t quite reach the top like the first one? Not the case with this one. I’d say it can hold it’s ground when it comes to plot, dialogue, and the whole comedic aspect. The pace of the film was on point. The banter was on point. And the comedy was on point. Playfulness was balanced with just a touch of seriousness that helps tell a story in a funny way. And I know comedies tend exaggerate things like the behavior of Greek families, but you know families like this exist! I know branches of my family have very similar moments.

The acting.

This, too, was on point. Everyone reprised their role from the first one and the addition of the next generation of Portokalos family, including Elena Kampouris as Paris was just awesome. Nia Vardalos and John Corbett held the on-screen chemistry as the first one and they did so good capturing married life while raising a teen. Since this cast is pretty huge, I won’t get into detailed critiques of the cast, just know that it was a job well done.

Film.

Since this is a pretty standard plot, everything was straight forward in terms of filming and sound. The film kept the story moving and gave us great perspectives from Toula, Ian, and Elena’s perspectives. Story lines also focused on Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) and both story arcs were woven together very well.

To buy or not to buy?

It’s a definitely worthy to capture a spot in your personal collection. It’s funny, not too long ago OnDemand movies weren’t really a thing so saying “DVD-worthy” sounded prestigious. Now, with Netflix and Amazon accounts, DVD-worthy doesn’t seem to carry as much weight. Anyway, however you add to your collection, be it virtually or physically, this movie is definitely worthy of multiple viewings. It’s funny, it’s “aw” worthy, and it’s fun.