My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Review: "A lazy, execrable cash-in of a movie" ★★★★★

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Blunt and devoid of subtitle, it's a title that sounds almost self-satirising; a wry commentary on Hollywood's tendency to err on the side of caution, and to keep on playing the hits. But the film itself shows very little of this self-awareness.

When it came out in 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding charmed audiences. An early 00’s rom-com in the vein of an indie Meet the Parents, it succeeded on its own terms. The central story, if predictable, was hard to dislike, and the whole thing carried off with sufficient vitality to win a following.

While uncommon, it's not unheard of for successful rom-coms to spawn sequels (see Meet the Fockers or Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde). So, while not entirely expected, news of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was far from the biggest of surprises. Equally unsurprising, but more troubling, is the apparent laziness of the film; fundamentally, it feels like a cash in, and a fairly execrable one at that.

The central premise appears to have been concocted in a matter of minutes; you can practically hear the screenwriters discussing which characters could conceivably get hitched this time around. In the end, they plumped for Toula’s parents Gus and Maria who, it transpires, never made their nuptials official. In terms of sub-plot, we’re offered a formulaic story about Toula’s daughter Paris (channelling an early career Avril Lavigne aesthetic) and her need to fly the nest.

If the boilerplate plot is not enough of a stumbling block, we can also throw in plenty of comic deadweight. It would be unfair to say that the film is devoid of laughs. Call-backs to Gus' unaccountable faith in Windex as a cure for all ills raised more than a titter. Fan favourite Aunt Voula also won her share of chortles.

But none of this is enough to justify the existence of such an anodyne 94 minutes. Only the most hardcore of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fans ought to shell out for this one.