Writer: Nia Vardalos
Director: Kirk Jones
*** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS ***
The sequel to the 2002 original promises a bigger, fatter, Greeker wedding than the first time around. Don't panic folks, Toula (Vardalos) and Ian (Corbett) are still hitched but this time the nuptials focus on Toula's parents Gus (Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) who, it turns out, where never officially married because the requisite signature was never scribbled on their marriage certificate. Okay, it's not exactly The Usual Suspects in terms of labrynthine plotting but who cares? I thought the first one was quite sweet and funny and there's been a 14-year gap to polish up all of the old jokes and unveil a load of new gags, right?
No.
For me, ninety-four minutes has rarely passed as slowly but even so I do feel a genuine sense of guilt that I didn't enjoy this at all because it's an unrelentingly good-natured piece of work and it tries very hard to capture exactly what made the first Big Fat Greek Wedding such a hit. Unfortunately, it couldn't have been wider of the mark.
Chief amongst its many problems is the fact that for a comedy this just isn't funny enough. Or, to put it another way, it just isn't funny. The situation contains plenty of potential laughs but the script constantly puts on the brakes when things are about to become too absurd. Come on, go full-on absurd, it's not a documentary. Also, having large groups of people charging from one place to another while jaunty comedic music plays in the background doesn't really work as a joke. It certainly doesn't work enough to have it repeated, so it's pleasing to note that it's only used the once....oh no, here it comes again.....and here it comes again....
It's great that all of the cast from the first movie has returned for the sequel, it's not so great that most of them are given a big fat zero to do. This doesn't just affect the supporting players, it stretches to the leads too. Part of the plot is that Toula and Ian's marriage supposedly isn't going so well but it isn't developed sufficiently to make the audience think there's anything truly at stake other than the fact that they haven't spent a lot of time with each other of late.
This can also be said of the issues they're having with their daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris, who gives good exasperated high school kid here and deserves a better movie in which to appear). Toula's a bit of an embarrassment to Paris. Toula wants Paris to stay in Chicago and go to college there. Paris wants to go to college elsewhere. Again, there's potential for comedy and drama even if it's not the most sophisticated of set-ups but the writing doesn't take it anywhere that's remotely interesting or amusing.
And the wedding itself? No real sparks there either other than a predictable attack of cold feet at the last moment followed by a not-wholly-convincing resolution, followed by a not-wholly-convincing resolution to Plot B, followed by a not-wholly convincing resolution to Plot C. In all, a big fat disappointment. Yeah, like you didn't know that one was coming...
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