My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

Under the boring and dull direction of Kirk Jones, the sequel to the most lucrative romantic comedy of all time comes off as a painful exhibition of failed jokes (after every potentially humorous line there is a cut to someone who is screaming clutching his head or rolling his eyeballs, reliably stamping it into the ground) and goofy characters who, under the slogan "more screaming means more laughter", turned from cute, peculiar Greek oddballs into unsympathetic hysterical idiots. This time the story focuses not on Toula and her husband Ian, but rather on her parents (there is a scene with a naked pensioner stuck in a bathtub) and her daughter looking for a college to go to (a desperate attempt by the whole family to convince the 30-year-old protagonist that she first needs to find a groom was justified in the first film, but now, when it is trying to push an eighteen-year-old student into the same thing, it's just weird). However, the plot often stands in place, and overall, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 feels like an episode of some average half-hour sitcom spanning ninety minutes. (04/03/2016)

It's nice to have all the actors back, but it's just not the same anymore. It's more of a wacky rather than a thoughtful comedy, which is a bit of a shame because the first film relied mainly on a good screenplay and good chemistry between the characters. They're essentially just supporting characters here, and the main focus is on getting the grandmother and grandfather to remarry. A few funny moments, yes, but nothing more. (06/16/2016)