VOD Spotlight: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

For writer and star Nia Vardalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, was a long-awaited family reunion. Coming nearly 14 years after My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the new movie picks up 10 years after the conclusion of the first. Toula and Ian are the parents of a teenager, struggling to balance their relationship with the work of raising their daughter. The sequel was inspired by Vardalos’ own reaction to parenthood. On her daughter’s first day of kindergarten the actress says, “I was struck by such panic and fear at the thought of my daughter leaving me that I realized I had morphed into my own overbearing, bordering-on-suffocating, Greek parents.” She immediately started writing the script for the sequel, a process that took nearly 4 years to complete.

Vardalos admits that she never considered writing a sequel without the entire original cast on board. Although some of them have spent time together over the years, they hadn’t all been in the same room since production wrapped on the first comedy. When the production was given the go-ahead, assembling the cast was akin to arranging the aforementioned family reunion.

The table read on May 7, 2015, was an emotional day; the cast arrived, hugged and cried happy tears. Michael Constantine, who plays Gus, Toula’s father, recalled: “It was wonderful being together again working on a film filled with love.” John Corbett (Ian) added: “It’s like when you go to your hometown, even if it was 10 years ago, you’re back in high school. After that first hug, we picked up where we left off.”

After the read, lunch was served (of course!), then it was a long process to get everyone into vans for the first rehearsal. The cast was surprised to see that they had arrived at the original Portokalos family home.

“I hoped that we would come back to Toronto to film — that we would get to go to the Portokalos house and rebuild Dancing Zorba’s — and walking into each of those locations was a very emotional experience for me,” Vardalos says. “For all of us, this was like sleepwalking, in which everyone was having the same dream at the same time.”

As the newcomer to the team, director Kirk Jones noted: “There are a lot of people who are working on this movie who were involved in the first one. When the crew walked onto the production and saw the sets and the actors — or when the actors were in with the same hair and makeup from the first film — they were absolutely astounded.”

The producers were also thrilled to bring back Gregory Keen, the production designer from the first film, as well as casting director Robin Cook, the gaffer, the focus puller, the locations scout, line producers, hair team, and many of the same background actors to complete the family once again. Vardalos noted: “The production felt it was important to honor the contributors to the first film by inviting them back for the second.”

“Greg helped us re-create this world by building these sets again — right down to the tiniest detail, the chipped Formica on the counter. When I walked into Dancing Zorba’s again, I felt like Toula had never left that cash register, ” she added.

In keeping with the family reunion theme of the production Vardalos’ real-life family arrived on set for several days to be background actors again at the church wedding and at the backyard reception. Her mother and sister, Doreen Vardolos and Marianne Vardolos, are the seasoned hands cooking the wedding-reception dinner in the kitchen at Dancing Zorba’s, while her father, Constantine Vardolos, reprises his role as the church chanter. Another sister, Nancy Vardalos, who was the choreographer on the first film, flew in from Winnipeg and a brother, Nick Vardalos, came in from Australia.

One big happy family indeed.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is available beginning June 21 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.

© 2015 Universal Studios Credit: Greg Kraychyk