You know her well: the usual teenage character in the most generic family movies. She was glued to her phone, earbuds permanently lodged in her ears. However, I'm happy to report that My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 doesn't fall into this trap. Paris, Toula and Ian's 17-year-old daughter, isn't the star of the new film, but she's still allowed to be a full-fledged character rather than a series of tired characters. As a former teenage girl, I feel relieved and elated when female characters in the 12 to 19 age group are treated with dignity and respect by scripts. Gloomy teenage narratives are getting tired, and I'm thankful My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 doesn't participate in them.
Like the first film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was written by Nia Vardalos, who also plays Toula, and both films do a great job of humanizing their characters. It's impressive, and the audience doesn't agree with the characters' point of view. The first film showed this through Tulla's father Gus, who didn't want his daughter to go to school, work, or focus on anything other than getting married and having children, but ultimately allowed his beliefs to change, and the sequel shows this through Paris a little. Although her views and desires go against her family's beliefs, Paris knows she must leave the nest and grow up in a realistic, complex way.
It's similar to Toula's own coming-of-age story in the first film, although Paris was much younger than her mother was at the time. In the sequel, Paris is a high school student applying to college. She had the opportunity to stay at Northwestern or move east to attend New York University. Her frustration with the unusual closeness of her extended family and their complementary lack of shame implies, but doesn't really state, that Paris and teenage Toula have different concepts of familial responsibilities. Paris doesn't feel the need to stay and care for her parents, which shows a generational difference. But she does have a deep affection for her family. She's right there offering to help Gus and Maria redo their wedding, and aside from some mild eye-rolling, she's friendly in all her interactions with relatives. She needed the strength to separate the guilt she felt about moving from what she really wanted and needed from her college experience. I would classify Paris as an introvert, but her shyness is not portrayed as some aggressive teenage girl, as is often the case in cliche movies.
My favorite moment with this character happens in the auditorium of her high school. Paris watches a boy ask a girl to prom in her locker, unaware that she just made it official with another classmate. (The movie doesn't make the girl into a mean girl cliché; she's not happy that the boy rejects her.) Paris, normally shy, is clearly smitten with this man but is equally stimulated by her, an adrenaline rush. Feeling uncomfortable seeing others being humiliated. She invites him to a dance in front of her peers, and he says yes; then everyone goes about their day. It's a brief scene where Paris barely speaks, but it tells you almost everything you need to know about her and how movies treat young female characters.
Teen girls are often mocked in pop culture, so it's both rare and exciting to see a character like Paris in a mainstream comedy—a teen who strongly subverts harmful stereotypes about young women.
Image: Universal Pictures
