My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

Based on actress-screenwriter Nia Vardalos's semi-autobiographical one-woman theater piece, 2002's My Big Fat Greek Wedding—revolving around the close-knit, Greek-American Portokalos clan—was an immigrant Cinderella story that garnered Vardalos an Academy Award nomination for her screenplay (and even inspired a short-lived TV sitcom spin-off). In this sequel, Toula (Vardalos)—still living in suburban Chicago, down the street from her parents' Acropolis-themed home—and her genial WASP husband (John Corbett) now have a moody, monosyllabic teenage daughter (Elena Kampouris), a high-school senior who is trying to establish her own identity. According to Toula's elderly father Gus (Michael Constantine), the Greeks invented everything (including philosophy, democracy, hockey, even Facebook). As the family patriarch, he embarks on an Internet quest to confirm that he is a direct descendant of Alexander the Great. To provide his family history to Ancestor.com, Gus unearths his wedding certificate, only to discover to his horror that, 50 years ago, the priest never signed it. Which means that he and Toula's mother (Lainie Kazan) aren't really married. This precipitates a crisis that even Gus's ever-present solution—a spritz of Windex—cannot fix; nor can bossy, meddling Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin). Scripted with warm, ethnic humor by Vardarlos and directed by Kirk Jones, this sequel incorporates the original cast, including *NSYNC's Joey Fatone as Toula's cousin, and introduces John Stamos and (producer) Rita Wilson as the new Greeks on the block. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Making the Greekquel” (15 min.) and “My Big Fat Greek Dinner” (12 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an engaging sequel.] (S. Granger)