My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 starts as the type of movie you don’t want to sit through. You stay because you paid for your tickets, and then it all ends up being worth it. The chemistry gets better, the jokes get funnier and the dialogue becomes realistic and relatable.
The film features the same characters as the original: Toula Portokalos, her now-husband Ian, her parents Gus and Maria, her aunt Voula and the rest of Toula’s big, Greek family. Like the first movie, half the charm of the film is the giant Portokalos family. They’re overbearing in the most loving and hilarious way, and their interactions between each other and the non-Greek world are filled with humor.
The first 20 minutes or so of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 are cute, but some of the chemistry between actors is so uncomfortable that it’s hard to watch. Several of the jokes are perfect until someone adds a line that ruins them. The daughter of main characters Ian and Toula, Paris, also seems unrealistic and unlikable.
Gus Portokalos (Michael Constantine) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin) make the film comedic, especially for viewers who may see some of their own family in the characters. Gus is the older dad who’s trying to keep up with 21st-century technology while informing everyone about the importance of his heritage. Aunt Voula is the relative who tells people more information than they want to hear and always has an opinion about everything. Still, these characters are caring, genuine and hilarious.
This is nothing new, though. If you watched the first film, you already know these characters are funny and you already know the overwhelming dynamic of the Portokalos family. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 isn’t anything surprising. It’s the first film all over again, perhaps with a bit more cheesy material and less originality.It’s the perfect movie for when you don’t want to think too much and just want to watch something that will put you in a good mood.
If you’ve seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding and it made you laugh, then the sequel is a must see. The plot of the first film was sweet, but its real success was from how funny it was. The plot of the sequel isn’t that strong or creative. However, the humor is still there.