My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is Hilarious! @MBFGreekWedding #MyBigFatGreekWedding2

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 – In Theaters March 25, 2016

I am thrilled to report to you that I previewed this movie a few weeks ago and got to chat with the cast afterwards. This is a special movie and there are some important points for you to know, this is the perfect family movie!

This is a family movie, suitable for everyone! That means there was no cursing, there was no sex ( a little making out by the parents is not sex, especially what we see, even on TV these days!), and no violence ( little kids play fighting is not violence, again compared to what we see daily on TV and in the movies).

Everyone I talk to is a huge fan of the first movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was Nia Vardolos’s sory! The most remarkable and wonderful thing that Nia has done in tis second movie is to give the ensemble cast much more screen time! It’s wonderful because all of these characters are rich and funny in their own right, with their many foibles and personality quirks:

The laughter is non-stop. One of the main reasons for that is that this is a recognizable family! I am married to an Italian man who’s siblings moved into their parents basement when they got married, and then bought a house a few blocks away. Now, his parents live within 100 feet of three of my mother-in-laws sisters, and all of them also live with one of their children’s families. Similar to the movie, where several families live on the same block , illustrating the closeness of the family, and also the opportunity for things to become stifling! Who cannot relate to this, of those who come from tight knit family’s?

Our first interview was with Elena Kampouris who plays the daughter of Nia Vardalos and John Corbett in the movie. What a pleasure it was to speak to this young lady! She said this was the perfect part for her as her dad is Greek and the first movie was a portrayal of his side of their family, which she describes: “I call it BTGFD, Born to Greek Family Disorder. You know what it’s like having family members that are very loud, only have one volume, talk with our hands, our feet. If we had extra limbs, we’d be talking with those too.”

Miss Kampouris was an absolute delight, she was so excited to chat with us, and was very funny in her own right, explaining that her name in Greek translated to hunchback and that the island were her father’s family came from was not the Greek isles you see in the travel brochures, but rather, one of the more unpleasant ones, Kasos, an island with no beaches! I asked her if her Greek family was lined up outside by the dozens, she said no, but that she had to request many extra tickets for her family for the Premiere as all of her relatives were flying in for the movie. All of them: “They’re flying over in masses. Instead of popcorn, they’re going to be having baklava.” And well they should, congrats to this lovely young lady who is making all of her family proud!

We also interviewed Joey Fatone and Andrea Martin. I have been a fan of Miss Martin for decades. And Joey Fatone, was awesome as well.

Andrea Martin was on! She had us all in stitches. She was stopping by from her current gig on the Broadway stage.  She is a hard working lady, and very, very funny. As I said earlier, her role on tis movie has been expanded from the first one. She had much more screen time, was very sassy, and called it like she saw it, “I wish I could be as confident as Aunt Voula in my real life. It’d be great to go through life not thinking about what anybody thought of you, but unfortunately that’s not who I am. But I love that quality in her. Just doesn’t worry about what people think of her, but I think she goes through life with great affection and love for everybody around her.” Aunt Voula did not hold back, for example in a scene where she was advising Nia’s character to keep the spice alive in her on-screen marriage. You’ll love that one! Andrea Martin said she based the character on someone in her family, “I based it on a great aunt of mine. I’m Armenian and her name was Evelyn Tarpinian, and she, in the Armenian community, was the one person that always was the fixer, as somebody said today. And always carried herself with great confidence, always looked lovely. Prided herself in assimilating into the American culture. And so I really thought about her when I created the character.”

And Joey Fatone! I could not take my eyes off of him, my hubby and I are huge fans of his! What a great guy, very humble and great to chat with. Another part of the ensemble cast who came into his own in this movie, more air time, and more character development. He shared, like everyone else from the first movie, that coming back after 14 years was like being with family again, like no time had passed. Joey was given a more complex role this time around, and he shared he was very flattered that Nia had this confidence in him, “It’s quite an honor for her to give me something like that, because not many people see the non-comedy side of me.” Nia begged us to not share what he is referring to, so no spoilers here, just suffice it to say that he is more awesome than ever!

How did My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 even come about? This is the big question for Ms. Vardalos, and an easy one to answer. She struggled for years to have a child and finally was able to adopt a daughter through foster care. It was literally an overnight situation when it finally happened. As a typical Greek  mom, like the ones we see in her movies, she was hit with a tough realization when she first sent her daughter to Kindergarten. She was sobbing and sobbing when another mom came up to her and said, just wait till she goes off to college! “And on my daughter’s first day of Kindergarten, I was crying so hard and so loud that other moms were backing away from me. And somebody said, “Hey, come on. In 13 years, they’re going to go off to college. What’s the big deal?” And I went, “What?” And that’s the moment that I realized I might have had the idea for the sequel and I went away and started writing that day.”

This is something I understand, I waited many years for my son, and I plan on following him to what ever town his college is in! As long as my husband’s direct deposit is working, I see no problem. I told my son he better be OK with this or I will matriculate and become his classmate as well!

My big question for Nia was whether or not this whole movie was just a ruse to get a second opportunity to make out with John Corbett! That was a rumor going around the Internet! Part two of the question was whether things had gotten better, she said he had improved with age! They both said they were thrilled to be working together again, and their on-screen chemistry picked up right where it had been over 14 years ago.

I cannot reiterate strongly enough how perfect this movie is for today’s world. It is all about family and love and support. Perfect for all ages. It is relatable on many levels, and it is the quintessential family movie. I plan on showing my son the first movie so we can go back as a family to see this second one, and all I can say it, I would be thrilled if there were to be a third installment down the road!

Directed By: Kirk Jones
Written By: Nia Vardalos
Produced By: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Gary Goetzman
Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Elena Kampouris, Alex Wolff, Louis Mandylor, Bess Meisler, Bruce Gray, Fiona Reid, Ian Gomez, Jayne Eastwood, Mark Margolis, Andrea Martin, Michael Constantine

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
Universal Pictures
In theaters March 25

Disclosure: I previewed the movie. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. The screening and press conference were hosted by Universal Pictures.

And I posed with all the cast, and I was in my celebrity glory! Here I am with Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and Elena Kampouris!

And Joey Fatone and Andrea Martin!