Opa! 'Greek Wedding' sequel more of the same, and less

Not even a good shot of Windex could clear up the sitcomy nature of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" and make it as funny, moving and insightful as writer Nia Vardalos wants it to be.

Fans of the original "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" might find this follow-up pleasantly unsurprising.

But some jokes and sight gags in this un-awaited sequel are so desperate, so cloying and so artificially manufactured that they smother what little genuine charm remains in Vardalos' Chicago Greek family reunion.

Take the time that Toula (Vardalos) pops some peanuts in her mouth from a bowl in an office, only to be told that a previous patron has already sucked the chocolate off them. (Yet, management leaves the nuts there?)

Or the time that ancient senior Mana-Yiayia (Bess Meisler) strikes a comical pose in a storefront window. (But no one notices. It's just a bit for the camera.)

Fourteen years have passed since Vardalos' original "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" blew the barn doors off the domestic box office ($241 million) to become one of the most successful indie movies ever.

This sequel, directed with television aesthetics by Kirk Jones, attempts to duplicate the elements that made the original resonate with so many viewers: the love-hate relationship with family, the eccentricity of old people, the reluctant acceptance of new ideas, what it means to be stereotypically Greek.

Vardalos refashions these old ideas into a situation comedy even more sitcomy than her original screenplay. If you listen carefully, you might imagine you're hearing a laugh track in the background.

"Wedding 2" introduces us to the daughter of Toula and the woefully underwritten Ian (John Corbett).

She's 17-year-old Paris (Elena Kampouris), perpetually angry that her parents are suffocating her social life by being overbearing and downright meddling. (Wait. If she's 17 and Toula and Ian married 14 years ago, shouldn't the title have been "My Big Fat Greek Shotgun Wedding"?)

Turns out that the priest forgot to sign the Greek marriage certificate at the wedding of Toula's parents, grumpy Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan).

Gus could have simply disregarded this information since he was the only person who noticed it. But he wants to make an honorable woman out his wife.

But wait. Maybe Maria doesn't want to accept his proposal ... or does she?

In other family business, Paris wants to go to college far, far away from the Windy City.

"Why do you want to leave me?" is Toula's response.

Meanwhile, Gus becomes obsessed with proving that his Greek roots go back to Alexander the Great, prompting another one of those hackneyed montages in which a befuddled senior attempts to operate a search engine to limited comic payoff.

One of the movie's Twitter handles is #pullmyneck. When two older characters are about to get their photo taken, each pulls the other's neck tight to make a more youthful face.

It's funny.

But, #pullmyfinger is funnier.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”

★ ★

Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Elena Kampouris

Directed by: Kirk Jones

Other: A Universal Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for suggestive material. 94 minutes