There are movies in the world that I always said that I would never bother checking out, but I have gone against my word a couple of times. One of those times was Magic Mike XXL and now My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is the other film and that is also today’s film. The film fast forwards 17 years later as Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian’s (John Corbett) daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) is at that age when she wants to leave the house and city for college. Toula is having a hard time with this as she also has to balance a problem at her parents house. Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan) think they’ve been married, but it turns out the priest never signed their marriage certificate. So, Maria wants to have a real wedding and the family has to plan it. The film also stars Joey Fatone (Family Feud) as Angelo, Andrea Martin (Wag The Dog) as Aunt Voula, Gia Carides (Year One) as Nikki, Alex Wolff (The Sitter) as Bennett, Louis Mandylor (The Quest) as Nick, Bess Meisler (Daddy Day Care) as Mana Yiayia, John Stamos (Full House) as George, Mark Margolis (The Wrestler) as Panos, and the film was directed by Kirk Jones (Walking Ned Devine).
As far as the movie goes, I actually enjoyed watching this film for what it is. It follows that motto of no matter how dysfunctional or weird that your family might be, they are exactly what you call them which is family. The movie is fun to watch especially if you come from a European/Mediterranean family like I did which helps you connect with the family. When the family is whole and together on screen is where the real laughs happen in the film and there is plenty of it. Andrea Martin deserves a lot of credit for stealing some scenes in the film and being hilarious. The only thing that bugs me is that I never saw the first film so I have nothing to really base any judgement off of. I can’t tell you whether it’s better than the first which took the world by storm back in 2002. All I can really say is that the film was fun to watch and the acting is definitely where it’s at in this film. Kudos to the studio for getting all of the original cast members back for the film and even adding some cool cameos like Rob Riggle. One of the things I liked about the film was the soundtrack with a Greek cover of Billy Idol’s White Wedding (by George Kostoglou). I thought it was cool. The film isn’t the greatest film in the world, but it does it’s job which is to entertain you. I’ll have to check out the first film now that I have seen this one. I am going to give this one an B for a final grade.
For today’s film, I saw the trailer for Hell And Back some time ago and I remember saying that I wanted to see it. I went on Netflix today and discovered that they had the film available to watch. Hell And Back is a stop-motion animated film that takes place in hell and it’s for adults. Three friends Remy (Nick Swardson), Augie (T.J. Miller), and Curt (Rob Riggle) all work at a carnival that is slowly going down the proverbial tubes. They’ve run out of ideas until Remy finds the devil’s book with the devil weeping and he instantly sees dollar signs. Whiel reading the book, Curt asks him for a mint and Remy makes him swear that he’ll return the favor. When Curt doesn’t, he gets sucked into hell where he will be a live sacrifice for the Devil (Bob Odenkirk). Now Remy and Augie will have to go to hell to rescue their friend before it’s too late. The film also stars Mila Kunis (That 70’s Show) as Deema, Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise) as Barb, Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) as Orpheus, H. Jon Benjamin (Archer) as The Tree, John Farley (You Don’t Mess With The Zohan) as Welcome To Hell Demon, Paul F. Tompkins (BoJack Horseman) as annoyed soul, Michael Peña (Fury) as Abigor The Demon, Brian Posehn (The Devil’s Rejects) as Cleb, and ti was directed by Tom Gianas and Ross Shuman.
You could definitely tell by watching this film that it belongs with Adult Swim or at least it has that Moral Orel/Robot Chicken style with the Stop-Motion animation. The film is kind of divided into to different parts in my opinion which are the part where it starts slow and the part where it gets good. The first part of the film is ok and they’re trying really hard with the jokes, but right when they get to hell that is where all the fun starts. My favorite part of hell was the welcome to hell demon who messes with the lost souls like telling them that there is no pizza at a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut and then ends it with a welcome to hell. He goes on and on throughout the film and stick around in the end credit scenes for some more. Bob Odenkirk is brilliant as the dark one, but at times I swore James Woods was the voice. The film gets really good when Danny McBride shows up as the Greek mythology character of Orpheus. If you are a fan of Danny’s like I am, then I am here to say that even in voice, he does not disappoint. One of my favorite voice actors H. Jon Benjamin shows up int he film to play a raping tree which is outrageous. I do want to warn parents that are stupid enough to click on the film that it is not meant for kids, but for adult enjoyment. Anyways, I really enjoyed the film and that is why that I am giving the film an B+ for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 