My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Who ever thought that this franchise, which started in 2002, would, eleven years later, still be around? Don't get me wrong--the first installment, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was simply uproarious. I laughed so hard, my stomach actually hurt. Then, in '16, out came "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2", and while being funny, it clearly wasn't the original. So now we have "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3" in our midst and it was funny and heartwarming, but again, not the original.

With the third installment of this franchise, this story centers around the Portoklos family, including Toula (Nia Vardalos), Ian (John Corbett), Nick (Louis Mandylor), Paris (Elena Kampouis), Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin) and others, as they travel to a family reunion in Greece that the patriarch, Gus, who has passed away (who was brilliantly played by Michael Constintine), who has passed away, told his family to have a reunion in his honor in Greece once he passes. This is assuredly a heartwarming and hilarious trip full of love, with twists and turns. Opa!

Others to round out the cast are Lanie Kazan as Maria, Maria Vacratsis as Aunt Frieda, Gia Carides as Nikki, Joey Fatone as Angelo, Elias Kacavas as Aristotle, Melina Kotselou as Victory, Alexis Georgoulis as Peter, Anthi Andreopoulou as Alexandra and Stephanie Nur as Qamar.

This was effectively directed by Nia Vardalos ("I Hate Valentine's Day" '09). Being that this is Vardalos' baby, it certainly helped in knowing how these different characters 'click' since the characters are based on her family. Considering she only has one other credit to her directing resume, she definitely was able to pull off the staging, pacing, etc with this project, otherwise I believe it would've been a tough journey. It was certainly a nice, heartwarming story penned well also by Nia Vardalos ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding" '02, "Connie and Carla" '04, "I Hate Valentine's Day" '09, "Larry Crowne" '11, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" '16) plus TV and a short. Since Vardalos squeezed out as much as she could in the Chicago area, where they're from, the next step in finding a premise that could deem original is to go to their 'roots'...Greece. Again, as with all the installments of this franchise, this was also funny, heartwarming and as with the other films emphasizes the importance of family--no matter whether it is a third cousin twice removed--it is family that counts. There were a couple of places of continuity issues with this script, but otherwise one certainly got what they expected when viewing this film. Back in 2002, Vardalos couldn't find a studio that would distribute her film until Tom Hanks got a hold of a script and told her this is funny stuff--it has got to be made. So he, his wife, Rita Wilson pga and Gary Goetzman decided to back it, and has produced every film since. The irony of the first film is that it cost 10 million to make the film, but it grossed in excess of 280 million, but was turned down by other studios. They had to have been crying in their beer at that point.

As stated prior, this, as with the other films in the franchise, are about family. This is apparently an extremely important Greek attribute, and it's spelled out in spades with this film. It's a fluffy, small comedy, however with family at the helm, and I believe family can't be emphasized enough. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                         Rated: PG                                          93mins.