The Stream: Lame, recycled jokes that are no longer funny.

The Big Screen: Reminder that Greece would be a beautiful trip.

The Final Bill: An unnecessary sequel fails to prove why it exists.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Nia Vardalos
Writers: Nia Vardalos
Stars: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone, Maria Vacratsis, Elias Kacavas
Genre: Comedy, Family
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive material and some nudity
Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes
Production Companies: Focus Features, Gold Circle Films, Home Box Office, Playtone
Platform: In theaters September 8, 2023
Notable Trailers: Migration, The Color Purple, Napoleon, The Holdovers

Hey, Streamers! Here’s another sequel that I don’t believe anyone was asking for. Yes, for some reason, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released in theaters this weekend. Nia Vardalos brings back the Portokalos family for another zany family comedy, but this time they’re taking their hijinks to Greece. Here’s how it goes.

Nia Vardalos wrote, directed and stars in this third film in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise. The patriarch of the family, Gus, has passed away. After receiving an invite to a reunion in Gus’s old village in Greece, Toula (Vardalos), Ian (John Corbett), Aunt Theia (Andrea Martin), and other family members journey to Greece to reconnect with Gus’s past. Recycled jokes and zany Greek-flavored hijinks ensue.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 does nothing to prove why it exists. Basically, this movie has relocated the events of the film from Chicago to Greece, and that’s it. They keep going back to the same jokes over and over again. Yes, they were quite funny in the first film; but that was 20 years ago. There is nothing new, interesting, or funny at all about this latest film. There could have been a really emotional thread in this movie dealing with the death of Gus and Maria’s dementia, but the film would rather focus on the dumb and very lame antics of the extended family members. “Is there a wedding?,” you ask. There is a wedding, but it’s so perfunctory and random that it has not impact. In fact, it is unnecessary diversion involving side characters you barely know just because the title suggests there must be a wedding in this film. I can’t waste another minute or brain cell on this movie.

Ultimately, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is an unnecessary sequel. It suffers from lame, unfunny jokes that pale in comparison to the fresh perspective of the original movie. There’s no reason to rush to a movie theater to see this. In fact, only stream this one if you can’t find the original to rewatch.