Mistaken for a sequel to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” the Nia Vardalos vehicle “My Life in Ruins” seems to have been overshadowed by her breakout hit of 2002.

The two films have nothing to do with one another. They just happen to star Nia and be about Greeks/Greece. Nia also wrote “Wedding” and had little to do with the “Ruins” script, which is a shame, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Vardalos plays Georgia, a Greek-American woman living in Athens and working as a tour bus guide. She has a doctorate in Greek history but can’t get a university job to save her life. She applies her knowledge the only other way she can to make a living. She hates it. It shows, and her Greek co-workers all notice how she’s lost her “kefi,” her Greek joie de vivre or as Austin Powers would say, “mojo.”

And so she leads her latest tour of stereotypical and hellish tourists, Philistines with no appreciation for art, history and culture. Will she ever find her kefi again? With a hunky Greek bus driver carting them around, anything is possible–even if his name is Poupi Kakas (Alexis Georgoulis).

Overall, this is a very nice little romantic comedy. Better yet, you really take a tour of the beauty of Greece. (You really gotta see the Blu-ray version if you want the full tourist effect.) The cinematography is beautiful.

As enjoyable as this comedy is, it really rides as many stereotypes as it can. From characters to plot points and twists, there isn’t much here that breaks any new ground. As I said before, Vardalos wasn’t the writer, so don’t expect her sparkling wit and heart-felt character development in this script. Nonetheless, she is still very appealing as a romantic lead and comedienne.

The standout annoying tourist is played by Richard Dreyfuss, an aging American wisecracker who recently lost his wife. He’s funny to watch, even if his character is a canned stereotype. (And I really wanted him to mention something about sharks during the scenes where they’re on a beach. It’s just the “Jaws” lover in me.)

I think it is the film’s heavy reliance on stereotypes, wise philosophy off the bumper stickers of cars and its after-school special feel that bothers viewers the most. It bothered me, even if though I basically enjoyed the movie. Sometimes I don’t want to have to think that hard to appreciate a film, and this was nice for allowing me to kick back turn off the hyper-critical critic within me.

In summary: Vardalos is charming; the views of Greece are stunning and the comedy is easy to follow. Enjoy.