My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 – Movie Review

September 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Let’s take a trip to Greece with the Portokalos family in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding remains one of my top five movies of all time. When this movie debuted in 2002, it instantly resonated with my immigrant and bi-cultural family. In the original movie, Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) falls in love with Ian (John Corbett), a non-Greek man. Their union showed us the crossroads they faced when they married outside of their culture. Whether it was food (I’m vegetarian), acne (just put Windex on it), or traditions (the big fat wedding), the Portokalos family represented any and all of us. The original movie shattered box office expectations and became the highest grossing comedy to date. It also earned Vardalos an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is coming back to theaters with a brand-new adventure. Join the Portokalos family as they travel to a family reunion in Greece for a heartwarming and hilarious trip full of love, twists and turns. Opa!
The third installment of the Greek comedy written and directed by Nia Vardalos takes us to the Portokalos family reunion in the patriarch’s native Greece. They go in search of the village where the late Gus (Michael Constantine who passed away in 2021) grew up. To honor their father’s last wish, Toula is determined to find her dad’s childhood friends and hand over the journal containing his life’s story. Chaos ensues, and the family’s vacation devolves into a messy and unrelaxing quest after they find out that Toula’s brother, Nick (Louis Madylor), had a mission all his own; he snuck his father’s urn on the plane with a plan to deposit his ashes in his motherland.
The surprising success of the first movie in this trilogy left us wanting more. Now, they say that the third time is a charm, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is indeed charming. But that’s it. Vardalos’ third attempt to duplicate the originality and cultural touchpoints that resonated with many of us recalls some of the classic moments that stuck with audiences: Windex, aunt Tula (the favorite one), and the grumpy YaiYai. Though the movie doesn’t let us down in this respect, it didn’t give us the belly laughs and connection we expected–the plot is a little thin, and some jokes simply fall flat.

But what the movie lacks in plot, it makes up with emotion and family unity. As the hijinks reach a fever pitch in the film, the underlying message reveals itself. Toula’s parents are getting old and dying, so who will end up being the family leader? Reality sets in, and Toula finally confronts this decision head on and ultimately accepts it. A good lesson for all of us.
But, is there a wedding in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3? Yes, of course there’s a wedding! And it’s a beautiful big Greek wedding at that.
Rating: PG–13
Runtime: 1 hour and 31 minutes
Writer/Director : Nia Vardalos
Producers:  Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman
Executive Producers:  Paul Brooks, Scott Niemeyer, Steven Shareshian
Cast : Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Louis Mandylor, with Lainie Kazan, and Andrea Martin
Filed Under: Entertainment, Main Page, Movie Reviews, Pop Culture Tagged With: , , ,

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