The lovely Nia Vardalos is typed casted yet again in a greek role. The movie would have been better made for TV but some cheesy humor that makes fun of tour groups. Was surprised to see Richard Dreyfuss.
My Life in Ruins is quite literally then largest array of negative cultural stereotypes on film. There no insight into the tourism industry or character development, just a constant parade of stock stereotype characters from the hellish tour group: The stodgy englishman, the loud fat American, the grungy drunken Australian and countless others too offensive to even list. Most romantic comedies can observe the most basic rule: do not be repulsive. I hit eject at the one hour mark.
"It's one thing to poke fun of stereotypical Greek behavior, but it's another to bitch about the tourists who clog the already varicose-thin Athenian streets." - Simon Abrams
Occasionally slightly charming, but never surprising and rarely as funny as it hopes to be. Watchable in a lowest-common-denominator group context, utterly unworthy of spending money on.
Only watchable when Alexis Georgoulis is on the screen, because his taciturn character is rarely required to say something stupid (and, let's face it, he's hot). Ms. Vardalos, you had, apparently, one good screenplay in you (My Big Fat Greek Wedding)... PLEASE let that be enough for you, okay?
Not a sequel to _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_, but a spawn nevertheless, with a slimmed-down Vardalos (smacked with an insult of "skinny") wooed by another hirsute hunk, Georgoulis, a Greek bus driver who plays Zorba to the repressed heroine, a fun-loathing tour guide to a motley group of stereotypes. (An actual clip of Zorba the Greek on local television fairly insists on the analogy.) Think of it, if you like, as My Little Skinny Greek Romance, heavy-handed, lead-footed, thick-witted al
I hate "rom coms", my wife likes them so I see them, its part of why my list is so bottom heavy. Because of this its always refreshing to watch a romantic comedy and find few to none of the overused plot devices many "chick flicks" tend to use and overuse. Nothing cliche here, just a fun story told well.
I had high hopes for this, being such a fan of Greek Wedding. Sadly, this did not live up to my expectations. The scenery is great. However, the acting was all a little flat for me (Dreyfuss excluded!) & the story was predictable. I love the premise, & the idea of an eclectic cast of characters is wonderful. But, I never felt the supporting characters' plots ever really developed, & I didn't feel that connected with any of the characters. That said, it was entertaining enough, just not great.
You get a mini-tour of Greece, but that's it. Apart from the fact that this has Nia Vardalos in it, this has nothing to do with 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' (if you were under any such impression like me, that is), and if you must compare, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is way better, funnier & cuter. 'My Life in Ruins' is your average clichéd chick flick, except set in Greece, as if that made a big difference.