Luscious plates piled with steaming fresh, homemade Greek food, interspersed with family portraits lifted from scenes in the first My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie, promise a joyous reunion with the family Portokalos. Sadly, what follows in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 falls woefully short of the authentic, endearing story of love delivered in the original and even in the second, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
It’s so frustrating – the movie held such promise. After the death of the beloved family patriarch, memorably and lovingly played by the late Paul Sorvino, the family returns to Greece to fulfill a promise to their father – to reunite his journal with his childhood friends who shared an idyllic Greek hilltop town prior to his immigration to the US. Toula (Nia Vardalos, who is also the writer and Director), takes it as a personal mission to fulfill his wish. Her brother Nick (Louis Mandylor), tags along and through most of the movie is a gauche clown – obsessed with grooming at the dining table, and still playing silly tricks on his brother-in-law, Ian Miller (John Corbett). Ian, for no clear reason except a nod to mystical Greek divine intervention, connects with a Monk on a remote beach who, miracle of all miracles, happens to hold the key to solving the whole family mystery.
Meanwhile, there is lots of family drama with a whole slew of new characters, as well as the daughter of Toula and Ian, whom we met in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Mostly formulaic and uninteresting, the drama distracts from the core story of the original characters, dealing with the loss of their father and their mother Maria (Lainie Kazan) who is suffering cognitive decline.
Andrea Martin, as Aunt Voula, is the standout and almost, ALMOST, saves the movie with her spot-on loveable character. Along with her sidekick Aunt Thiea, played by Maria Vacratsis, they provide some loving comedic relief. Same with the absurd escapades of cousins Angelo (Joey Fatone) and Nikki (Gia Carides).
Sadly, so much energy and screen time is used up with the new characters and their storylines, that we miss further developing the satisfying relationships with the core characters – those from the original Wedding. This movie could have built on that foundation, and it would have been enough. A satisfying exploration of them, their loves and losses. Early on, the movie hints at sincere depth, as the siblings speak with their mother who still has good humor and vigor despite her memory loss; there is clearly a sense of loss of two parents. Another exquisitely filmed and painful scene is at the oldest tree on the island, and what to do with dad; this beautiful scene connects with everyone who feels lost after the passing of a parent – and yearns for freedom. Such a powerful moment. In another scene, Nick and Toula debate about who is the new head of the family – the pain in Nick’s face was heartbreaking. He should have been given so much more to do than clip toenails, dress gaudily, and act like a doofus. It would have been nice if this big fat Greek wedding was about Nick finding true love and peace on the Greek isles, completing his father’s circle of life… Ah, what a missed opportunity!
Toula and Ian are lost in the nonsensical wanderings of the younger characters and their mostly uninteresting Greek island drama – nothing meaningful happens between them as characters or as parents. And Ian’s parents are only mentioned once – not a word about his mother who was a delightful supporting character in the first.
Their daughter Paris, played by Elena Kampouris, returns, now blond and looking nothing like the rest of the family (she did in the second film). That’s likely on purpose as she’s eager to separate herself from the family both out of her need for independence and also because she’s regretful for frittering away her first year of college. Toula, for her part, is trying so hard to not meddle in her daughter’s life, there is no real, meaningful, loving connection in this move between mother and daughter as there was between Toula and Maria in the first two movies.
Scenes of delicious food and the Greek countryside, dotted with humorous performances are not enough to save Greek 3. Neither is the way too dreamy, Instagram-perfect village wedding scene. And it is a shame. I had looked forward to reuniting with the Portokalos family, catching up over a table set with a Greek feast. Instead, this movie serves up bland, corporate fare.
To learn more about the movie, visit the official website.
– Jimmy McDonough, In Good Taste Denver
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