My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)

Picture: A/C+ Sound: B+/C+ Extras: B Film: B

They're back ...after years Toula (Nia Vardalos) has her own family and own headstrong daughter. And just as she did then, she has now ....her 'family'. Like mother like daughter, her daughter wants to be independent (just as she did) and her family wants her to meet/marry a nice 'Greek' boy/boy friend. Toula wants her to go to college nearby, Gus (Michael Constantine) is obsessed that he is a direct descendant of Alexander the Great, and turns out Gus and Maria (Lainie Kazan) was never married because his wedding certificate never signed by the priest 50 years ago. Will history repeat itself? It will be up to Toula not only save her parent's marriage but also deal with her family relations, but as we know when you marry a Greek ...you marry the family too.

The Portokalos family is back in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, now Toula is doing the same thing she did to her daughter as her family did to her when she got married (and to her daughter's nightmare), now she is turning into the overbearing Greek mother. As the new and old generations meet they will have to learn how to balance the traditional with the modern. Along with her own family problems she'll have to help fix her father's marriage when he finds he wasn't married for the last 50 years and then there is trouble in paradise. All the family will be called in to help save her parent's marriage (and setup her mother's wedding) and for her learning to let her own daughter go. John Corbett and Andrea Martin are also back, so even if this is 15 (!!!) years later, the original cast is (surprisingly) pretty much back.

This was a comical sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding that worked (though what's with Hollywood making sequels to all these old movies nowadays?), things come full circle when the character learns to be come the parent to their own children, it is the battle between the old and the new, the traditional vs the modern, the stubborn and the proud, and the things that brings family together. You might like the sequel, but many did not, so see for yourself. You will get more out of this if you see the first film first.

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is an HD shoot versus 35mm for the original, but color can be good (if watery in a few shots) and it is impressive throughout otherwise. The lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix may be joke and dialogue-based, but it is really well mixed, recorded and presented throughout. The anamorphically enhanced DVD with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is much weaker by comparison. Extras include gag reel, Making of the Greekquel, My Big Fat Greek Dinner, trailers and Digital Copy, but for more on the original film on Blu-ray, see our coverage at this link...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11888/Beaches+(1988/Touchstone/Disney+Blu-ray)/The

- Ricky Chiang