My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time. It was quite great. Its an exaggerated look at some Greek families, but it was such a delight. So, inevitably the standards were high for the sequel which has now been released 14 years later, after Toula’s (Nia Vardalos) wedding.

Vardalos has been Greece’s spokesperson for Hollywood since the first movie, together with Rita Wilson who joined the production team again with her husband Tom Hanks, and appears in the film along with John Stamos. These guys are just some names in Hollywood that have put Greece on the map.

The sequel is that feel good movie you need after a long and stressful day. The laughs are plenty and really helped get rid of the headache I had before I walked into the cinema.

Everybody is back for the sequel, and there are some new younger faces (and I guess if you want to include the amount of plastic faces as new faces, you could). All the originals have stuck very true to their personalities from the original movie.

There are three story lines to follow here. First you have Toula and Ian’s (John Corbett) daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris). Gus (Michael Constantine) from the get-go rips out the, ‘you need to find a husband. You’re starting to look old’ line, and shes only 17. So we figure from here, it’s about Paris being encouraged by her family to find a husband (a Greek one, mind you), while deciding which college shes going to go to. Kampouris plays an excellent teen who is embarrassed by her wild and weird family.

The second story that jumps on the tracks with the other train, is the story of Gus’ desire to prove that he is a descendant of Alexander the Great. Whilst doing this, he comes across his marriage certificate and finds that the priest who married him and Maria (Lainie Kazan), never signed the certificate. Therefore, a second big fat Greek wedding must be put together. There are a few hiccups along the way. Yes, Gus brings out the Windex as well.

The third story is about Toula and Ian themselves. Though they seem so much in love, they just want to make sure the fire is still burning in their marriage.

With some abrupt leads into each story line, it still kind of works. You can’t really tell which one of the three plots is the lead story and which are the side stories, but it doesn’t completely throw you off.

I really enjoyed it. It’s lighthearted and funny, with a few tear jerking moments here and there. It’s lovely, and very much needed.

The highlight for me of the whole movie however, is the grandmother. She’s a little less abusive in this one, and a lot more, like, she smoked up. She’s so sweet, even having a cherished moment between her and Paris. Also the little kids in this movie add that extra humour. They take it upon themselves, just like their grandfather, to find the Greek root of each word. They do this so well. The best line comes from one of the aunties, ‘telephone, telegram, tell a Greek.’ Genius!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is worth your time, and definitely what you need if you need something soft and light. I give it a 4 out of 5.

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