Review: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
They're Headed To The Homeland.
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
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THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: The Portokalos family travel to Greece for a family reunion.
QUICK REVIEW
Though it came out twenty-one years ago and broke the record for biggest box office by a film that never hit the number one spot, this was the first week I saw the cult classic My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And my verdict? It was really good. Simple, but I’m a hopeless romantic even as a guy currently going through a rough separation. Then I watched the 2016 sequel that was so horribly reviewed in comparison - and I ended up thinking that was actually okay. Inferior - but okay. So seeing the negative reception to this third film titled simply as My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, I wondered if I was going to like this more the way I did the sequel.
First things first I can see why some have their issues with this film. It plays more like a straight to TV cheap flick than a theatrical feature. There’s some forced jokes, and there’s even some attempts at diversity that feel a little forced though I didn’t think it hurt the story at all. There’s incredibly predictable story beats and character arcs, and the movie really doesn’t take any chances. Hell it even sorta steals a major subplot from Downton Abbey: A New Era.
But that being said everything I found likable in the previous films are still here. Is it simple? Yes, but I think that’s where the charm of these movies works for some - me included. The family dynamic continues to be a strong part of them, and I have to say I got more than a few chuckles from the jokes. I also saw this with a crowd that was responding to every moment and seemingly having a blast with it. There are some heartfelt moments in this and if you’re letting yourself go with the movie’s emotional parts, they’ll touch you.
I can go into every detail of this and explain away my pros and cons, but honestly it comes down to this - If you liked the second film from 2016, you’ll more likely than not like this one. If you didn’t, you may just wanna’ stick with the first one and ignore the sequels exist. For me this was a decent enough fun watch. So I give it a “just okay” B-.
INTIAL GRADING
