My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3": Will There Be A Third Installment

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in the United States on 8 September 2023. The film, written and directed by Nia Vardalos, is the third instalment in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise. It stars Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Lainie Kazan, and Andrea Martin. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but grossed $39 million worldwide.

Release date

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in the United States on 8 September 2023 by Focus Features. It was released on digital platforms on 26 September 2023, three weeks after its theatrical release. The film was then released on Blu-ray and DVD on 31 October 2023.

The film was written and directed by Nia Vardalos, who also co-stars. Vardalos confirmed on Instagram in June 2022 that the movie was filming in Greece.

Cast

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in 2023 and sees the return of several cast members from the previous films in the franchise.

Nia Vardalos, who wrote and directed the film, reprises her role as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos. John Corbett returns as Toula's husband, Ian Miller. Louis Mandylor plays Toula's brother, Nick Portokalos. Elena Kampouris plays Ian and Toula's daughter, Paris Miller. Lainie Kazan, Maria Portokalos, Andrea Martin, Theia Voula, Gerry Mendicino, and Maria Vacratsis, as Aunt Freida, round out the older generation of the family.

Gia Carides and Joey Fatone play cousins Nikki and Angelo, respectively. New characters are played by Elias Kacavas, as Paris' love interest Aristotle, and Melina Kotselou, in an undisclosed role.

Plot

The plot of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 centres around the death of the family patriarch, Gus Portokalos, and the impact this has on the Portokalos family. The film sees the family travel to Greece for a family reunion, which was the wish of Toula's late father. Toula, played by Nia Vardalos, attempts to locate her father's childhood friends in Greece and fulfil his wish for her to hand over a journal, which tells the story of his life.

The family arrives in Athens, where they are greeted by Victory, the mayor of Gus' hometown, Vrisi. The village is nearly abandoned, and the family soon learns that there is no reunion planned, and Victory is instead hoping the Portokaloses will help to revive the village. The family then goes sightseeing and visits Gus' childhood home, where they meet Alexandra, Gus's old flame.

The film follows the family as they experience life in the small village and retrace Gus' steps, creating a closer connection to him and understanding his upbringing. It tackles themes of grief and saying goodbye after tragedy, as well as the importance of living with joy and spending time with loved ones.

The film also explores the individual journeys of the family members. Nick, Toula's brother, is now separated and returns home, displaying immature behaviour. Athena and her husband Yiannis are caring for Maria, who is battling dementia. Toula's daughter Paris is struggling with the responsibility of college, unbeknownst to her parents. Paris also deals with confusing feelings for her college-mate Aristotle, who is introduced by Aunt Voula as her assistant.

The family learns that Gus had a son, Peter, with Alexandra, and that Peter has a son, Christos, who is betrothed to Qamar. The film leads up to the wedding of Christos and Qamar, with the Portokalos family helping to organise the celebration.

The film ends with Toula, Nick, and Peter scattering Gus' ashes around the oldest tree in Vrisi, and the family deciding to bring Peter back with them to America.

Reception

'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' received generally negative reviews from critics, with an average rating of 4.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The review aggregator website describes the film as ""amiable and sunny if often unamusing", and suffering from "diminishing returns". On Metacritic, the film received a score of 35 out of 100, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a more positive score of a "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 73% overall positive score, with 55% saying they would definitely recommend the film.

One review on IMDB states that the film was a "massive disappointment", with the critic stating that they "had a hard time sitting through the entire movie". They go on to say that the film felt "empty", with "no heart" and "no connection". They also felt that the music was "out of place" and that the "plot was thin".

Another review on Rotten Tomatoes describes the film as a "fever dream of bad choices", with "lazy writing, lazy performances, [and an] unnecessary plot". The reviewer goes on to say that "every joke is forced" and that "for a comedy, [their] screening was dead silent".

However, not all reviews were negative. One review on Rotten Tomatoes states that, despite the film's "third-film shortcomings", it has "some genuine laughs and a healthy dose of heart". Another review on the same site describes the film as "mildly entertaining" and "not too annoying", while another says that they "loved it as a girls afternoon out" and gave the film a rating of 5/5 stars.

The film was released on September 8, 2023, and has grossed $39 million worldwide.

Filming locations

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was filmed entirely in Greece, with locations in Athens, Corfu, Santorini, Paros, Crete, and Hydra.

Athens was a significant filming location, with the airport transformed to resemble O'Hare airport in Chicago. A house in a wealthy suburb of Athens was used as the interior of the Portokalos family home. The historic neighbourhood of Plaka, known for its neoclassical architecture, narrow streets, and quaint village feel, was also used for several scenes.

The cast also travelled to the Island of Corfu, filming in the neoclassical village of Varipatades and showcasing the island's stunning castles.

Other filming locations included Santorini, where a night wedding scene was shot, and some coastline shots of Paros, Crete, and Hydra.

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