A Return Engagement... "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2"

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Elena Kampouris, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan,

Directed by Kirk Jones

The Story:

The Portokalos Family is back! Toula and Ian (Vardalos & Corbett) are dealing with their daughter (Kampouris) getting ready to graduate and head to college while feeling like their own marriage is losing its spark. Compound that with the news that her parents (Constantine & Kazan) were never officially married, and you know the family is not going to stand for that.

Shocked and a little surprised that a sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding came out, and that shock is mostly due to the fact that it took almost 15 years after the original for it to be made.

It was the little movie that could back in 2002, and it charmed audiences and wowed at the box office.

There were always rumors of a sequel, but apparently it took Vardalos some time to come up with just the right script, but the family returns.

And since it's been awhile since the orignal, I'm pretty sure most of the entire cast has returned, so it's a lot like slipping into some old clothes, a very familiar, comfortable affair.

They bring out the standard sitcom device of the wedding that never was, and it forces the couple to reevaluate their love and devotion to one another.

But this is a movie, not a sitcom, so we need to fill 90 minutes.

So you take 2 other well worn sitcom scenarios: the child leaving the nest and a sparkless marriage, and now you have 3 separate, but equal plot devices to hang the film on.

And they all work, because again, we already know and love the characters.

The biggest, and best addition is their daughter, Paris. She both rebels against and embraces the Greek heritage that is her birthright, while providing the only real drama of the film with the "where will she go to college" cliffhanger.

Because you know all the marriages are going to be just fine by the end of the film.

Will this turn into a trilogy? Hard to say, but don't wait another 14 years if it's going to happen, the audience, like much of the cast, isn't getting any younger!

:)

Final Grade: C+ / B- Range

She'll Raise the Kids and They are "Raising Helen"

The life you need is not always the life you have...

The Story:

Helen (Kate Hudson) is a young star on the rise, working as an agent in the modeling world of New York.  Her work is a dream, and her life is a party.  Then one night, she gets a phone call that her sister, Lindsay (Felicity Huffman) and her husband were both killed in a car accident.  Stranger still, Helen has been granted custody of Lindsay's three children (Hayden Panettiere, Spencer Breslin and Abigail Breslin) instead of oldest sister Jenny (Joan Cusack) who is already a responsible mom.  As Helen has to completely reorganize her life, she begins to realize that she is not cut out for being a mom.  Plus, there's the local Pastor (John Corbett) who thinks Helen is pretty cute and would love to date her.  The deeper over her head she gets trying to care for the kids, the more she realizes that she wasn't cut out for this life, and Jenny would be the better caretaker.  Helen's going to have to make a choice, very soon, for the sake of the kids.

What a sad, yet sweet movie.

Another breezy film by Garry Marshall, they try and make the grief as painless as possible, this is supposed to be somewhat romantic comedy after all.

And yet...

The loss of the parents is never far from the surface, and the reasons why Lindsay selects Helen over Jenny are finally revealed in the final act, though it's fairly easy to piece it together as the movie goes along and the characters fully develop.

All of the actors do a great job, and it's a great time capsule in their careers almost a decade ago.

Kate Hudson looks great, very reminiscent of her mom.

This film provides cinematic proof that finding a good guardian to raise your children is the hardest decision any parents will ever have to make, and hopefully one they will never have to utilize.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: This is the second time in 10 years I've seen it.  I keep meaning to add it to the collection but forget.  Maybe around its 15th anniversary? :)