Philosophy, Maths, medicine and astronomy have been the Greeks major contribution to civilization. And our muddle headed Editor believes that, for him, all of this came to a culmination with the doner kebab where he suggests that each Friday night, having been turfed out of The Nags Head, he looks into the night sky and ponders whether he should buy one, trying to work out if he’s got enough money to afford one and whether, after 10 pints of Stella he’ll end up at A & E. Frankly he’s an idiot (‘You’re’ fired!’ – Ed). My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 deals with none of these as writer, star and now director Nia Vardalos returns with a belated second sequel to the 2002 Oscar nominated original.
Toula (Nia Vardalos) is still married and with a daughter at NYU but she has to contend with her dementia set mother, a frisky sister and layabout brother as they deal with the death of their father (the late Michael Constantinou) and his last wish was for his journal to be delivered to his three school day friends still living on the Greek island where he grew up. So Toula and her husband along with their daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) and a family entourage that includes her brother and two Aunts set off to their fathers boyhood village to find his three friends.
Staying at an old villa run by another fearsome aunt who turns up like a bolshy Mrs Danvers and is assisted by Qamar (a stunning Stephanie Nur), a Syrian girl in love with the aunt’s son but having to keep their relationship secret from his disapproving father who himself has a secret. It’s a nod to relevancy and the current immigration problem Greece is facing like the rest of Europe,. Added to this is Paris ex-flame Aristotle, – another sledgehammer nod to Greek culture that its surprise we don’t have characters Barry Plato, Steve Socrates and Percy Pythagoras rock up – who is on the same flight as the family and their story line comprises of scenes of Paris pondering whether they should get back together.
These latter two storylines take as much precedence if not more than the ‘looking for the school day friend’s which pretty much takes a back seat which is left to Toula’s sister Maria who is still in the US to find them but quickly jets over and finds them with relative ease and yet when the three friends are found there’s a cursory handing over of the journal to what appear to be three elderly extras earning a few quid on top of their pension with a look of bemusement not seen on their faces since Greek government allowed its population to retire before puberty.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 at its core maintains value and strength of a close knit yet extended family which has always been a plus point and the locations are stunning and the on screen food sumptuous but this is the sort of light comedy that someone like Woody Allen does so well but this is lightweight, underdeveloped and ultimately superficial and, as with so many franchises, falls prey to the law of ever diminishing returns.
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Here the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 trailer….
