'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' Movie Review: Third Times Not the Charm

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Opa. Where to start? This is easily the most painful film I’ve watched in recent years. So, what went wrong? The original movie was so endearing and fun. How did this film manage to lose all its charm? There’s so much to say.

In this third installment, the Portokalos family is returning to the big screen for an all-new adventure brought to you by writer and director Nia Vardalos. This time, we’re headed to Greece for a much-anticipated family reunion. The film’s official description promises a “heartwarming and hilarious trip full of love, twists and turns.” However, that’s not exactly what this one delivers.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Movie Trailer

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Movie Review: What I Did and Didn’t Like

With a runtime of 1 hour and 31 minutes, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 subjects the audience to approximately 1 hour and 27 minutes of excruciating agony. I’ve never checked my watch so much during a movie (and there have been some long movies this year).

The movie noticeably lacks charm despite the palpable joy that can be felt amongst the cast members. Ultimately, it’s a mess from all angles. There’s choppy editing, blatant disregard for continuity, an atrocious script, terrible greenscreen effects, bad acting, and a dozen other things that serve as distractions throughout the film.

All of these issues make it challenging to follow the countless narratives the movie has. While the intention might have been to present character vignettes or perhaps a fresh take on montages, the execution proves to be jarring for the audience.

Simply put, it’s all just bad. Like really, really bad.

Script

In theory, the concept of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 sounds promising, reuniting us with characters fans so loved from the previous films (though I didn’t see the second film, so it’s possible it was just as bad).

Nia Vardalos created a fun family comedy that was culturally rich, immensely funny, and overall delightful with the original film. However, here, the reality is quite different. While Vardalos also wrote and directed this movie, this time, it falls short on all accounts. The jokes fall flat. Silly tropes make the audience cringe. And the dialogue is often clunky and stilted (making it difficult to relate to the characters in any meaningful way).

Acting

There’s nothing these actors could have done with this script. The material they were given was lackluster, limiting their ability to bring any real depth to their characters. Even the more seasoned actors here failed to overcome the forced comedic sequences and disconnected narratives.

And the younger actors felt too green for even this movie. Between the acting, script, and overall execution of the film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 felt as though it was made in an amateur film school — akin to a student-directed experience or project — rather than by actual professionals.

Overall

By this point, you’ve gathered I wasn’t a fan. And I’ve not even touched on the insult that this movie poster is to graphic designers around the globe.

This is one of those movies where you come out asking: “How did this get made? They had to know how bad this was… right?” The film suffers from a complete lack of cohesion, resulting in an unpolished and uninspiring movie that fails to capture the essence of what made the first so successful.

When it comes down to it, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is worth skipping unless you’re a die-hard fan, and even then, this one might make you want to divorce the fandom that made you fall in love with these characters all those years ago.