My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Review
Theatrical Movie Review - Comedy
When Tom Hanks called Nia Vardalos to tell her he wanted to produce her movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” she hung up on him because she didn’t believe it was him. It was, and in 2002, her story that had a budget of about $5 million grossed more than quarter of a billion dollars. This story about a Greek immigrant family finding a way to bring an outsider to their clan was an absolute sensation. Now, more than two decades later, Vardalos has written and is directing the third movie in the series, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.”
Toula (Nia Vardalos) is going to Greece! Following her father’s death and with her mother’s dementia worsening, she is going to a reunion in her father’s birthplace to give his journal to three old friends. Toula is joined by her husband Lan (John Corbett), their daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris), Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin), Aunt Freida (Maria Vacratsis), and her brother Nick (Louis Mandylor). While there, they meet long-lost family, try to fulfill the patriarch’s last wishes, and of course, attend a big Greek wedding.
This movie was kind of a mess. There were aspects that were really lovely, some parts that absolutely did not work, and a lot that seemed half finished.
You can tell that Vardalos is proud of her Greek heritage because she brings it up about every five minutes or so in the movie. While that worked well in the original movie to help establish the characters and their motivations, it feels very played out in the third, particularly when the family is in Greece. I often felt like the jokes about being Greek overshadowed the ways she could have shown that dynamic in interactions. Pride in heritage is lovely, but in this context, it felt like it was a shortcut for actual further character development.
The performances are all good. Lots of iconic performers in this and when the script is working, you can see why they have had success. But much felt cringy and stiff, due largely to the script.
As I said, there are some genuinely beautiful moments. Even though the wedding is a bit of a foregone conclusion at this point, the wedding scene was one of my favorite parts. There was a conversation between Toula and Nick near the end that was heartwarming. The strongest parts of the movie were when it wasn’t trying to be funny. When it leaned into the value of family, it worked. My biggest frustration was that there seemed to be some story lines like the position of head of the family or Paris’s issues with school that were really underdeveloped in favor of jokes about being Greek that just weren’t that funny.
While this movie has its ups and downs, the ups didn’t quite make up for the downs for me. But if you want to enjoy a destination wedding in Greece for the price of a movie ticket instead of a plane seat, this is your chance.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on September 10, 2023.
So many weird little scenes that had no segues in or out. So many people you were supposed to care about, just because. So many “shut ups” in Greek. So little continuity or context.