The clichés come fast and furious in this superficial 2009 comedy that fails to deliver anything close to wit or insight beyond the level of a Hallmark greeting card. In what amounts to be a sitcom remake of 1969's "If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium", a farce that depicted the whirlwind antics of an American tour group in Europe, this film is even more dependent on stock characters and situations that appear transported from an Eisenhower-era story. Seven years after her unexpected success with "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding", star Nia Vardalos looks slimmer and more glamorous than she did in her debut, yet she portrays almost the same self-defeating character as Georgia, a history professor who came to Greece to teach but ends up leading tourists around its ancient ruins. Disappointed with the cards life has dealt to her, she is uptight about her job much to the consternation of her group who want only to have fun rather than an education on ancient Greece.<br /><br />Directed by Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality") and written by Mike Reiss (episodes of "The Simpsons") in an extremely slapdash fashion, the story focuses on how Georgia has lost her passion for life (called "kefi" in Greek) and how it takes the motley tour group and her attraction to a studly bus driver named Poupi to rediscover it. Vardalos is a likable presence, but her screen persona is getting redundant as her depiction of an everywoman becomes less credible with her every appearance. Richard Dreyfuss is really slumming here as an avuncular Jewish widow named Irv who acts as Georgia's wizened counselor in love and life. Yet, his Oscar-winning chops at least make his stereotype less offensive and brain-draining than the other actors, in particular, Harland Williams and Rachel Dratch as a mouthy American couple. As Poupi, hunky Greek actor Alexis Georgoulis looks initially like Grizzly Adams, but love transforms him into smoldering eye candy as the movie progresses, which is really the whole point of his role. Rita Wilson shows up in a sentimental cameo as Irv's deceased wife since she and husband Tom Hanks served as executive producers (same as they did with "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding").<br /><br />With cinematography by frequent Pedro Almodóvar collaborator José Luis Alcaine, the Greek locations are refreshing, even though the environs around Valencia, Spain, apparently doubled for much of the country. The 2009 DVD oddly offers three separate commentary tracks from Vardalos, Petrie and Reiss. Vardalos' track is charming but marred by long pauses since she seems to miss someone prompting her to speak, while Petrie's is understandably more technical in nature. Surprisingly, the most entertaining commentary is provided by Reiss, a genuine comedy writer who convinces us that the story is based on his real-life experiences as part of a tour group. There are twelve minutes worth of deleted and alternate scenes, including an excisable alternate ending, and a comic three-minute featurette, "Everybody Loves Poupi", that Petrie created by re-editing some of the footage. Even though Vardalos is not at the helm this time (unlike the far more execrable "I Hate Valentine's Day" released a month later), I have a feeling that she has more talent than this movie allows her to display.