By Callie Zingas ’16 | Staff Writer
In 2002, one of the greatest movies to ever hit the Greek community came out and made $369 million worldwide. It was a huge success at the time, and is still remembered as the corny Greek comedy which guarantees a laugh from both Greeks and non-Greeks the same. As far as the sequel goes, it was released in the winter of 2016, with a new spin on the plot, yet including the same name and simply called, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.” The producers waited a huge amount of time between the movies, and this was a mistake. Waiting a few years is good to build up the hype, however, it was a movie that was forgotten about and many people will have not seen the first since it was so long ago, and that would prevent them from exploring the second.
As far as the content of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” it is similar to the original movie in that it features the same Greek family living in New York, and Toula, the main character of the first movie, is still married to her non-Greek husband, Ian. However, in this movie they have a daughter named Paris who brings youth into the cast, which otherwise features all adult main characters. Toula’s parents realize that the priest in Greece never ended up signing their marriage papers and they aren’t technically married. This is a genius idea and a great way to incorporate another wedding and keep the theme of the first movie.
The new spin is that Toula’s mother Maria, that is newly not married, decides she needs to be proposed to. This exposes the stubbornness of her “husband” Gus that has always blindly relied on Maria for almost all of his needs outside of managing the restaurant. The stubbornness costs him when in the end of the movie, he is injured and is rushed to the hospital, and realizes that he needs to swallow his pride and be good to his wife.
This, although it plays on a stereotype of the male dependence on the female for all of the chores and cooking, is a good exposure of how hard it is for the husband to live without his wife’s help and his desperation becomes hilarious. There are many jokes regarding how huge the family is and how they are always using Windex to clean things, and I feel that these are repeated often and could be swapped for some new Greek jokes. They are dry and the same as the ones in the first movie.
Additionally, Paris is embarrassed by her family often and they butt into her school choice often, encouraging her to stay home at NYU instead of pursuing her dream school, Northwestern. This was relatable for many seniors in the debate between staying close to home and going further, however, the chances that Paris would get into her two top schools are very slim, and this is a bit unrealistic.
The best scene in the film was Gus attempting to figure out a computer and put in all of his relatives in ancestry.com. Greek or not, everyone understands the struggle of attempting to teach the elderly how to use electronics and his along with the rest of his family’s frustration with this becomes hilarious. Gus is determined to prove he a direct descendant of Alexander the Great, and as many people know, Greeks are inherently proud of their ancestry and the basis they created long ago, so this is also a hoot for the audience when in the end, a letter comes back from “ancestry.com” really faked by one of the relatives, that he is actually related to Alexander the Great. Gus’ excitement about this fact is very cute, although it makes watchers want to palm their forehead for him. When the letter is revealed at the after party of the wedding, Paris finishes prom and brings her Greek boy over, and one of the Gus’ sons admits he is gay in to his sister, and she accepts him. I like this inclusion of a modern issue, however, I think it could be drawn out more and emphasized.
To conclude, the movie was a success. Although the jokes were repeated and it was released very late, the new spin on the wedding and take on modern and relatable issues was well executed and enjoyable.
