The Kings of Mykonos

I attended the premiere last night. I was a big fan of the first, so I knew this could never live up to it - I still enjoyed it.

The Kings of Mykonos clearly had a higher budget than the original, but a lot of charm was lost in this. The plot revolves around Steve & Frank heading to Mykonos to claim an inheritance from a long lost relative and the predictable hi-jinx ensue.

I don't think anyone was expecting an Oscar quality movie here, and it won't exceed those expectations. There are still sufficient laughs to be had, but it is certainly not the laugh-out-loud-only-in-Australia humour of the original Wog Boy.

Nick G & Vince C are starting to show their ages, but it works in the context of the film.

The two female leads are absolutely stunning in any language but you never quite buy the chemistry on screen. Kevin Sorbo has an amusing role as the King of Mykonos, and Alex Dimitriades's Mihali character had so much potential but barely has a line in the film considering the pivotal role.

The ending of the film was confusing and abrupt and I'm not quite sure what was supposed to go on there. It might be worthwhile waiting for the DVD version to see if there was an alternate ending. I also read that there was a sex scene filmed, but this certainly wasn't in the edit I saw last night.

All in all, I recommend it - particularly if you enjoyed the music and oh-so-Melbourne "wogginess" of the original. The scenery is breathtaking which is a nice change for the film. Don't have exceedingly high expectations and you won't be disappointed.

I guess the movie might appear as pretty lame to quite a few guys who will watch it. And though it does use a tried and tested (succesfully at that) formula, it does not seem to really bring life to the whole thing. Still the effort the guys put in there and the fact that in this case I am a bit biased (Greek heritage living as a foreigner), makes me overlook a few things I guess.

You can have fun with this movie, though it never will achieve a status that "My big fat Greek wedding" has (though to me it is not so much inferior to the Vardalos picture, her recent career proving, that it/she might stay with that one big success), but it still might be enough to sit back and enjoy a movie about an island ... and some stuff. There is not much story, but it does use locals (you can hear it from their accent) and is just a neat little picture.

Nick Giannopoulos and his team have crafted another genuinely funny movie. This is a character driven, rare comedy whose simplicity belies its talents. Rare because Giannopoulos' humour comes from the heart. This lends much pathos to the characters we meet in 'Kings of Mykonos'. It warms us to, and sustains, our interest in a storyline that is clever without being contrived, is flawed without ever being pretentious.

The enjoyment Giannopoulos and his cast get out of every moment and every scene should be in the textbook for comedy filmmaking. It's a skill many bigger names in the industry will never master. Giannopoulos is an Aussie gem, and Kings of Mykonos reflects every facet of his talent.

You really need to look at this movie for what it is - a realisation by Nick G and Co. that what we as Greek Australians think it is to be 'Greek' is far from ....

Most Greek Aussies think that they are Greek until they actually go to Greece where they realise that they are a different type of Greek. We are no more Greek than the African Americans are African. We are a hybrid, a culture on to our own. And guess what ... there is nothing wrong with that.

For the first time Nick G respects both the Aussie Greeks and the Greeks from Greece. We are not portrayed as stupid, un-educated, simple or without class. And it's about time ! The boys arrive in Greece thinking that they will be met with village Greeks. The Greeks have moved on. They are glamorous, rich, smart and sophisticated. And guess what ? They consider the Greek Australians foreigners ! A hard lesson.

You need to look at this movie and understand the undertones. Understand what Nick G and Co have realised. They have grown up and its about time.

I have not seen the first movie that acted as something approaching a first part therefore I would not comment on elements of continuity and coherence.This movie had a mixed reception in Greece to say the least, because many of the stereotypical attitudes that attributes to Greeks and Greek-Australians are negative in themselves: financial corruption, nepotism etc.

On the other hand, to use a term that has been the title of another Greek movie that was shot in Mykonos-it has many "beautiful people" in it, notably Makrypoulia and Copolla, who play a Greek singer and former Miss Italy respectively.

The funniest aspect of the film had to do with the appearance and behaviour of the two German archaeologists who finally make a discovery that acts as a catalyst in the development of the plot.

I can not say that it was a quality movie but it is fun, it is shot in a very charming place, Mykonos, as the title suggests and has some memorable appearances, if not performances. Good clean summer fun.