My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

I went into this movie with somewhat low expectations. I saw the original many many years ago, but honestly, can't remember much about it. I went on a random Sunday night and it hit the spot. I thought it was very entertaining, funny, and enjoyable. The characters were likable and you were rooting for them. I have a big Italian family, and many of these character reminded me of my own family. Yes, they are loud and nosy and all up in each others business, but they love hard and have fun. They understand the importance of family and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I would recommend this movie to all ages and it is family friendly.

Fmovies: One of the features that I enjoyed about the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding was its low-stress plot line. It was a romantic comedy; you knew how it was going to end anyway. So Nia Vardalos did not bother to write faked-up plot twists to drive her characters apart. The tension, such as it was, was provided by the self-doubts of the main character, her romance with an outsider, and the surmountable obstacles and inevitable adjustments and culture clashes that such a union precipitated. As the main character blossomed from ugly duckling to swan, finding herself along the way, you really grew to care about her successes and to root for her burgeoning love affair with the perfect man, Ian.

The problem with such a Cinderella story is that a wedding marks the end of the road. Events after the wedding are practically irrelevant in the rom com tradition. So how do you write a sequel to a rom com? Many writers have revisited fairy tale romances, after the wedding, to tell bleak tales of doom, gloom, and disillusionment. Into the Woods is a prime example: fairy tale endings segue into misery, betrayal and destruction. Frankly, I find such post-Modern tales of woe to be intellectually lazy and tiresome. The reality of the post-wedding state may be complex but it is not universally unhappy. All weddings do not end in divorce! Nia Vardalos had the happy idea to make her sequel be about how we turn into our own parents as we raise our own children. In my opinion, there is no Hollywood comedy writer better equipped to address this topic than Nia Vardalos! Beneath the comedy shtick and general silliness, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is a thoughtful meditation on dealing with our inevitable transformations as we mutate from young lovers to parents to burgeoning empty-nesters, while learning to nurture ourselves and our primary relationships in the midst of overpowering family and outside-world demands. Do we take our partners for granted? Can we change at any age, as the world changes, or are we stuck? Can we come to terms with the choices that we've made in life? How do we do this while raising children, dealing with our aging parents, and the inevitable disappointments and bizarre turns that life has in store for us? The miracle is that Nia Vardalos and her team have managed to address these kinds of topics while making a fast-moving, slapstick, effervescent comedy that keeps an audience constantly laughing. I thought the film was a tremendous achievement, heart-warming and entertaining.

Some critics have dissed this film for being full of shtick and ethnic humor, and for having plot twists that "don't go anywhere." Why? Those were the features of the original film. I EXPECTED a film without woe or major crises, a romp. But I got a lot more. The subject matter was refreshingly adult.

Toula, the romantic lead from the original movie, has now become a working Mom, stuck again supporting her family's restaurant business, dealing with her teen daughter's angst and disdain. Toula's fairy tale makeover from the 1st film has disappeared: poor Toula has no time for the hairdresser's, she's trying to be SuperMom... driving her daughter even crazier. Amusingly, Ian is more perfect than ever, now Principal of his daughter's high school. Regardless, his own daughter wants him to pretend that they don't know one another "because the other kids think I'm a narc!" In addition, Toula's family has become so demanding that Toula and Ian's marriage suffers. The story really

The idea that one doesn't marry their loved one, but their entire family is entirely true. I'm on good speaking terms with the majority of my extended family from my aunt and uncle who live close by to my cousins who live on the other side of the country. When I'm thinking about introducing a girlfriend to the family, I'm constantly worried that one will dislike her, creating something of a domino effect. I might take home the president's daughter, yet they might find her laugh unbearable and tell me I could do better. Luckily, I have yet to encounter that, but you never know.

The majority of my family has Irish heritage. While this is not what makes us close (it's our simple compassion), there is something of a cliché that's formed and I'm left wondering if were a "cool" group. Nia Vardalos faced a similar problem with her Greek family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was a cute movie that became something of a sleeper hit that made it a box office smash back in 2002. The family was likable and even with the sitcom-like setup, there was potential to tell more of the Greek clan of Chicago. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 shows us what happened fourteen years later.

Toula (played by Nia Vardalos) and Ian Miller (played by John Corbett) are doing their best to give their daughter Paris (played by Elena Krampouris) whose about to finish high school. Paris is clearly embarrassed not just of her mother's constant volunteering at the school to which her father is also principal, but of her large family that's always around to remind her that she's Greek. Even at a college fair, her entire clan descends upon the tables to look into what she's going to study and how far away from home she'll live.

Family patriarch, Toula's father Gus still embraces and loves to show off his Greek heritage, whether it be at his restaurant, at physical therapy, or even when instructing Paris to find a nice Greek boy. Things are thrown around when Gus pulls out his marriage certificate for an ancestry project when he realizes that he's never been legally married to his wife Maria. So another wedding is on as the group now puts everything together while Toula tries to keep everything focuses and Paris makes her decision on where she'll go to college. Oh, and Gus is trying to find proof that he's descended from Alexander the Great.

My first question is why they waited for so long to get My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 going? Was there really a demand for another movie (I know there was also a failed sitcom) about this family fourteen years later? That would be too much of an issue if the movie was really funnyÂ…and it rarely is. The story is not exactly a rehash, but most of the wedding stiff does feel familiar. I think that more could have been don't. that doesn't mean that there aren't some humorous moments. There's the college fair and how we're obligated to help the family inÂ…every situation (you'll see what I mean). The Alexander the Great search got a couple of chuckles out of me. But the writing is not as sharp as the original. The original may have not been a masterpiece, but it was intriguing.

The entire cast is all back (it must have been a good thing that none of these people never went anywhere) and they all do their best to throw in a joke here and there. The least interesting character is the newest member, Paris. She's another stereotypical angsty teenager who really has little to complain about. What's u

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 fmovies. First let me say that I loved the 1st movie. I watch it often (maybe too often. lol) Anyway, I was looking forward to this sequel. I haven't been this excited about a movie since the Harry Potter series. I rushed my husband so we could get to the movies 30 minutes prior to showtime. I expected a crowd, but when we arrived it was quiet. Evidently not everyone was anxiously awaiting this film.

I thought the movie started out a little slowly, but it was funny and heartwarming. People in the theater were laughing and clapping and genuinely enjoying it. We enjoyed it too. Did some parts feel forced? Yes. Was it more of the same from the first movie? Yes, but I loved that about it. When the 1st movie ended, I wanted to know more about the characters and their lives. This movie allowed that to happen. I loved that they were able to bring back the old cast. (There is nothing worse than seeing a sequel with different actors.) I loved that the characters were just the same as before, only a little older.

This isn't a film to change your worldview, but it is fun for entertainment. I'm looking forward to being able to buy it blu-ray, so I can watch it again and again.

My son and I just came home after seeing "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2." We loved the first movie and laughed but when seeing the sequel, I must warn you, I laughed until I cried and had sore stomach muscles. There were more hilarious scenes this time around than the first time and a multitude of new ones. If I could have given "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" a rating of 11 or 12, I would not hesitate. All of the original cast of characters from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" are in this movie. These characters are the ones whom we fell in love with. Getting to know everyone's quirks and idiosyncrasies in more detail was beyond enjoyable, amusing and refreshing. There are some awesome underlying messages creatively blended with humor that effectively relay messages we all should take heed and learn from. What warmed my heart and tickled my funny bone also made me feel loved and accepted as a member of the Portokalos family, despite what my DNA may show otherwise. On the way to the movie theater, I decided to keep an open mind. I ignored the negative and hateful reviews of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" to form my own opinions. I cannot begin to express how ecstatic I am that we saw this movie. So, my advice to is overlook the spiteful, pessimistic reviews and opinions you read and hear about this movie. Then take a break, bring some face tissues, go to the theater and see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2".

sequel (noun) – "a literary work, movie, etc., that is complete in itself but continues the narrative of a preceding work." That's the definition on dictionary.com. Miriam-Webster.com says that the word's origin is… "Middle English, from Anglo-French sequele, from Latin sequela, from sequi to follow." Unfortunately for Gus Portokalos, the root of the word "sequel" cannot be traced to any Greek word, but it also in no way means "completely original". Actually, it kinda means the opposite. I generally avoid reading other reviews before I write mine, but when I saw the low scores that critics on various websites gave to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" (PG-13, 1:34), I had to at least take a peek at some of their comments.

Most criticisms of this movie can be summed up in one word – "unoriginal" – but is that fair? It's a sequel, people! Think of it like this: If you went to spend time with a friend whom you haven't seen in 14 years, would you be happy if your friend acted completely differently than the last time you were together? What if that friend refused to talk about the history you two shared, instead insisting on discussing all new topics, expecting you to enjoy that conversation as much as you'd enjoy a little reminiscing? Well, this film doesn't make those mistakes – and is to be commended for it! For those of us who loved the 2002 original, seeing this movie is a lot like visiting an old friend – and it's a visit filled with the perfect combination of fond memories and new experiences that are both fun and sweet.

Correction: Seeing "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" is like visiting a LOT of old friends. First up is our host, actress and comedienne Nia Vardalos. She wrote the screenplay for the original, which became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time (!) and earned Vardalos an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Naturally, Hollywood types and ordinary fans alike have been asking her about a sequel ever since, but she cared enough about quality and her own integrity that she says she didn't write the sequel until she had a story that she felt was good enough, and she was ready to write it well enough to be worthy of the original. And when Vardalos wrote her new story, she brought back all the main characters from the first film – and many of the minor ones – and all played by the original actors! Our calendars tell us that the sequel came 14 years after the original, but that's 18 years to a Greek (or, at least, to these Greeks). Toula (Vardalos) still lives next door to her parents, Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) and she's still married to Ian Miller (John Corbett), with whom she is raising their daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris). Paris is a 17-year-old high school senior who, like her mother before her, works part-time at the family-owned Greek restaurant, feels smothered by her loud, proud, loving but meddling Greek family, and wants that proverbial "something more" out of her life. Paris' plan is to go to college – as far away from her Chicago home as the continental U.S. can carry her. Toula is struggling to deal with her only child leaving – and with keeping the passion in her and Ian's busy lives.

And then there's the rest of the family. Just to cite a few examples: Ian's best friend, Mike (Vardalos' real-life husband Ian Gomez), has gotten married and become a police officer. Toula's cousin, Angel