The Big Question: When Is My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3?

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is a 2023 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. It is the third instalment in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise and was released in the United States on 8 September 2023 by Focus Features. The film follows the Portokalos family as they travel to Greece for a family reunion after the death of their patriarch, Gus. The film received generally negative reviews from critics but has grossed $39 million worldwide.

Release date

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in theatres on 8 September 2023. The film was distributed by Focus Features in the United States.

The film was made available on digital platforms on 26 September 2023, three weeks after its theatrical release.

The DVD and Blu-ray release date was set for 31 October 2023, and it was also available on Digital HD from Amazon Video and iTunes on 26 September 2023.

The film is expected to be released on streaming in October 2023, likely on the Peacock platform. This is because Universal Pictures, which owns Focus Features, releases its films on streaming platforms 30-45 days after their theatrical run.

Plot

The plot of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3' centres on the death of the family patriarch, Costas "Gus" Portokalos, and the impact of his passing on the Portokalos family. The film begins with the family grappling with their grief in the wake of Gus's death and that of Ian's father, Rodney.

Toula, Gus's daughter, resolves to fulfil her father's wish of having his journal, containing his life story, delivered to his childhood friends in Greece. The family travels to Greece to Gus's Greek hometown of Vrisi, organised by the self-appointed town mayor, Victory, under the guise of a family reunion. They are joined by Aunt Voula, Theia Freida, Toula's brother Nick, and Paris's old flame, Aristotle, while Toula's mother, Maria, who is battling dementia, stays in Chicago.

Upon their arrival in Vrisi, the family discovers that the village is nearly abandoned, and they meet Alexandra, Gus's old flame. Victory confesses that there is no reunion planned, and she had hoped the Portokaloses would help revive the village. The family then travels to a nearby town, where Toula searches for Gus's friends without success and gets drunk on ouzo.

The next day, the family makes surprising discoveries: Gus had a son, Peter, with Alexandra, and Peter has a son, Christos, who is in a secret relationship with a Syrian refugee, Qamar, due to fears of family disapproval. Christos and Qamar decide to get engaged, despite initial resistance from Peter and Alexandra.

The film culminates in a joyous celebration as the family comes together to organise a big, fat, Greek-Syrian wedding for Christos and Qamar, infusing both Greek and Syrian wedding traditions. The film also sees the family scattering Gus's ashes around the oldest olive tree in the village and deciding to bring Peter back with them to America as part of their family.

Cast

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, released in 2023, is the third instalment in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding film franchise. The movie was written and directed by Nia Vardalos, who also reprises her role as Toula Portokalos.

The film stars John Corbett as Ian Miller, Toula's husband. The couple's daughter, Paris Miller, is played by Elena Kampouris. Paris's college-mate, Aristotle, is played by Elias Kacavas.

Other returning cast members include Lainie Kazan as Maria Portokalos, Toula's mother, and Andrea Martin as Aunt Voula. Joey Fatone plays Cousin Angelo, and Gia Carides plays Cousin Nikki.

New characters include Qamar, played by Stefanie Nur Buddenbrook, and Peter, played by Alexis Georgoulis, who is revealed to be the son of Gus, the patriarch of the Portokalos family, and Alexandra, played by Anthi Andreopoulou.

Filming locations

The third instalment of the 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' film series was shot entirely in Greece, marking a departure from the first two films, which were filmed in Toronto.

Athens, the capital of Greece, was a significant filming location for the movie. The Athens airport was transformed to resemble Chicago's O'Hare airport, and the historic neighbourhood of Plaka, known for its neoclassical architecture, was used for several scenes. The cast and crew also filmed in a wealthy suburb of Athens, where they transformed a house into the interior of the Portokalos family home.

The island of Corfu was the second primary filming location, with the cast and crew spending almost a month there. They filmed extensively in the neoclassical village of Varipatades, located at the peak of a mountain, and also showcased the island's stunning castles.

The film also includes coastline shots of the islands of Santorini, Paros, Hydra, and Crete. In Santorini, they filmed a night wedding scene, which was particularly challenging due to the island town's location on a slope.

The film's writer, director, executive producer, and star, Nia Vardalos, said that filming in Greece allowed her to capture the country with the "magical realism" she'd always dreamed of.

Critical reception

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in the United States on 8 September 2023. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, with an average rating of 4.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The review aggregator website summarises the film as "amiable and sunny if often unamusing, [the film] repeats much of what audiences loved the first time around but suffers 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 "B" rating on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 73% overall positive score, with 55% saying they would recommend the film.

One review on IMDB states that the film is a "disaster from beginning to end", filled with "aimless sentimental moments". The review goes on to say that the film "wasn't worth [their] time or money". Another review on Rotten Tomatoes calls the film "a fever dream of bad choices", with "lazy writing, lazy performances, [and an] unnecessary plot".

However, some viewers enjoyed the film, with one Rotten Tomatoes review calling it "mildly entertaining. Not too annoying. [It was a] good enough film to watch by [myself] at the theater when I had nothing else to do". Another review on the same platform says that despite the film's "third-film shortcomings", it has "some genuine laughs and a healthy dose of heart".

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