“My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” Review
The Portokalos family return to the big screen, this time visiting their ancestral homeland of Greece, in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.”
One of my favorite independent films of the 2000s is “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Not only is it a hilarious and romantic film, but it also provided a level of representation of the Greeks that is both heartwarming and, as someone who has spent time with Greek communities in New York City, incredibly accurate. The script of Nia Vardalos, who plays the film’s protagonist Toula Portokalos, is remarkable, garnered her an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and led to a film that charmed audiences and made over $300 million against a $5 million budget. Now, over twenty years later (with a sequel having come out in 2016), “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” tries to capture the charm of the original but ultimately comes up short with too many plot points and not enough emphasis on the simple yet relatable dilemmas of the protagonist.
After the death of her father Gus, Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos), her husband Ian (John Corbett), daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) and the rest of the family go on a vacation to Gus’s home village in Greece so that they can reconnect with their family roots and with the friends and loved ones Gus left behind. While meeting new and colorful characters and experiencing Greek culture right from the source, new drama is unveiled and, of course, another wedding is going to happen. With all the chaos and love that only a Greek family can provide, the Portokalos clan put in all of their effort to make this trip memorable.
Right off the bat, it is wonderful to see these lovable characters again. The Portokalos family is one of cinema’s most endearing dysfunctional families with their bold personalities and sincere affection. Not only does Nia Vardalos reprise her role as Toula and write the film’s screenplay, but she also gets to direct this time around and you do feel that love she has for the fictional family she created.
By changing the setting to Greece, not only is there a refreshing new environment but it also could yield a lot of potential. How much of an emotional experience would it be if you were go go back to the home country of your ancestors and walk the paths that they did? At first, that’s what the film promises with the tragic death of Gus (a sad reflection of real life with the passing of actor Michael Constantine in 2021) and his children venturing to his home village. However, much like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2,” the film’s story feels like it’s spread way too thin by focusing on too much at once.
What made the original film work so well was that it was only about Toula and her journey towards becoming an independent and confident woman. The titular wedding doesn’t even become a big plot-point until halfway through. For the entire film, we’re with Toula and we want her to become happy. In both sequels, too much attention is given to the family, who are wonderful as vibrant supporting characters, and it makes it more difficult to get attached to the story since it’s all over the map (literally in this film’s case).
Instead of just focusing on Toula and her siblings trying to understand their father by coming to Greece, there’s a bunch of filler plot points that could have been cut. There’s a part of the film about Paris having a tough time at college. There’s a part about the family trying to rediscover their roots and relax on vacation. There’s a big reunion of people from Gus’s village, including his childhood friends. There’s even another wedding. Only this time it’s involving brand new characters we barely know because they’re not given enough time to establish themselves.
By having too much in the film, very few of these pilot points can end on a satisfying note or at least have some emotional resonance. I don’t even know why there’s a wedding in this film. This could have been called “My Big Fat Greek Vacation” and it would have been fine. While this large amount of storylines could have worked in a two-hour film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” is only 1 hour and 32 minutes long. That’s not enough time to give each story enough focus.
While I can’t say this is a good film, I can’t say it’s bad either. After all, Vardalos knows these characters so well and their relationships are still entertaining to watch. I enjoy Theia Voula (Andrea Martin) essentially hijacking the vacation. I love seeing the Greek landscapes. I always get the warm fuzzy feelings seeing Vardalos and John Corbett playing this charming couple. The characters do make watching “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” a relatively harmless experience. I just wish that this film had the same bite as the first and that just isn’t the case.
If you really love the first one and just want to go on another trip with the family, you’ll get it but I don’t think you’ll get the same lasting impact that the first film had. However, if you were on the fence with this one, I can’t really recommend it. As much as I love “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” the sequels have just felt unnecessary and won’t make the same splash, as well-intentioned as they are.
