My Huge Fats Greek Marriage ceremony 3 is uncomfortable to observe, squandering no matter goodwill the collection as soon as had.
In 2002, My Huge Fats Greek Marriage ceremony turned a real phenomenon. Written by and starring the then-little-known Nia Vardalos, the movie made practically 50 occasions its modest $5 million finances on the home field workplace, and remained in theaters for a whole yr. As formulaic because the plot might have been—a girl falls for a person with a special background—the script was intelligent, coupling acquainted romantic-comedy tropes with culture-clash humor. Clichés in regards to the Greek American way of life blanketed the script, however they charmed due to an enthusiastic ensemble solid. As my colleague Megan Garber noticed, the film “was an enormous hunk of baklava: layered, nutty, shockingly candy.”
No matter fluffy lightness the unique movie contained has largely deflated within the twenty years since—and My Huge Fats Greek Marriage ceremony 3, the most recent sequel after a forgettable second installment and a short-lived TV collection, marks the franchise’s nadir. With a shapeless plot that tediously unfolds, the movie is uncomfortable to observe. Even Vardalos, who directs for the primary time, appears to wrestle with mustering precise curiosity in her personal materials.
That’s considerably baffling, contemplating how a lot potential the premise has: This time round, the Portokalos family is touring dwelling to Greece, as a result of Toula (Vardalos) needs to satisfy her late father’s want of giving his journal to his childhood greatest buddies. The journey is about as much as be a bittersweet one; Toula speaks of how her father’s loss of life has left the household “scattered,” particularly as her mom has begun affected by reminiscence loss. This journey, then, provides her an opportunity—very like the primary movie did—to come back to phrases together with her Greek heritage whereas bonding together with her eccentric prolonged household.
However any semblance of emotional stakes disappears beneath a flood of stale one-liners about, as soon as once more, how overbearing Toula’s family members may be, and simply how completely Greek all of them are. Her brother whips out the household’s well-known healing Windex and quips in regards to the Greek roots of English phrases. Toula’s aunts insist to Toula’s daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris), that the matchmaking abilities of Greek matriarchs are “higher than the apps.” An prolonged bit on the airport finds the household jammed right into a revolving door, unable to maneuver as a result of—har har—there are simply so many of them. At greatest, the punch traces are merely drained. At worst, they’re tasteless: A twist involving a long-lost relative is launched with a careless incest joke about Toula being interested in him.
The result’s a static movie wherein nothing occurs and nobody adjustments. Everyone seems to be a set of displayed quirks or declared traits. Paris deems herself “a multitude,” regardless of all proof that she’s a standard school child, only one with a penchant for sporting crop tops. A brand new character—a cousin who’s been named mayor of Toula’s father’s hometown—is a caricature of Greek delight, asserting all Greek issues to be “No. 1,” a behavior that will get outdated quick even in a movie collection constructed on cartoonish portraits of Greek delight. Even Ian (John Corbett), Toula’s husband, is lowered to a parody of a supportive partner. He spends a lot of his display screen time wandering by means of his environment, finally (and inexplicably) befriending an area monk who helps with Toula’s quest to search out her father’s outdated buddies—a plot level that feels shoehorned in to offer him one thing to do.
At 91 minutes lengthy and shot on location in Greece, My Huge Fats Greek Marriage ceremony 3 ought to have been a breezy postcard. As a substitute, no quantity of sequences filmed throughout golden hour can distract from the story’s clunkiness. The climactic marriage ceremony between two locals—as a result of the title requires justification—evokes solely apathy, provided that it entails two characters who say no quite a lot of traces of dialogue, and whose story is tangential to the Portokalos household’s. It’s a miracle any of the guests bear in mind their names.
Romantic comedies not often beget good sequels, as a result of stretching a love story out tends to decrease the fantasy inherent to the style’s success. The few which have labored—Mamma Mia!: Right here We Go Once more involves thoughts—construct on nostalgia for the unique story and deepen their followers’ understanding of the characters they fell for within the first place. My Huge Fats Greek Marriage ceremony 3 may have achieved the identical; it already has the picturesque locale, for one factor. However it squanders no matter goodwill it as soon as had, ignoring its vibrant characters in favor of awkward goofs.
In a single scene, Elena learns that the continuously uttered Greek phrase sopa means “shut up”—and that it doesn’t all the time imply “be quiet.” Typically, it’s used to precise delight; different occasions, it’s delivered to convey a sentiment akin to “that’s sufficient.” The time period is outwardly meant to be a enjoyable operating gag—there’s a effective line between shouting the triumphant Greek expression “opa” and crying “sopa,” in any case—but by the tip, it additionally felt like a continuing reminder of how weak the story’s momentum is, and the way little the movie tries to say about household and the act of homecoming. Twenty years in, the franchise ought to take its personal recommendation: Sopa, My Huge Fats Greek Marriage ceremony. Joke’s over. That’s sufficient.
