Child of the Bride.... and Groom
Toula (Nia Vardalos - I Hate Valentine's Day) may have married Ian (John Corbett - A Smile as Big as the Moon) and started a family but she is still close to her parents, in fact they only live next door with the rest of the family living in the adjacent houses. But for Toula and Ian they are facing the fact that their daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris), is heading off to college soon and they don't know how to be a couple rather than mum and dad. Meanwhile Toula's father, Gus (Michael Constantine - The Juror), in trying to prove his heritage has discovered that he is not officially married to Maria (Lainie Kazan - The Engagement Ring) and she is not going to make things easy for him when it comes to sorting the mess out.
Back in 2002 when "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" came out I was dating an Italian and I certainly could connect with the character of Ian as I watched that first movie. That relationship didn't last for me but as I watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" the humour of the situation still worked from the opening scene as we discover the Portokalos family all living next to each other right up until the final scene where the entire family are involved when Paris heads off to college. Basically for just over 90 minutes we get a lot of family comedy as we have the intrusive nature of a close knit family who live in each others pockets.
But beyond all that wonderful comedy there is a story of sorts which drives this sequel. I say of sorts as part of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" is about Toula and Ian dealing with their relationship moving in to a new stage as their daughter is due to leave and they have forgotten how to be a couple in love. And then part of the movie is about the quirky comedy of Gus and Maria discovering that they are not technically married and so we have lots of issues as Maria won't just get it done. These are not strong storylines and there is next to no depth yet they work well as a vehicle for a lot of comedy and I do mean a lot because I don't remember enjoying a comedy as much as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" in quite a while, mostly because most of the movie is inoffensive.
What this all boils down to is that "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" is a whole lot of fun and certainly something which made me laugh, not just because I could relate to much of the humour but also because of its inoffensive nature.
