91 minutes, rated PG<\/strong>
\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n
I hate to go full Gus Portokalos on you all, but in Greece, we have a proverb that goes a little like this: You can\u2019t step in the same river twice. My Yiayia always said it, along with her other favourite phrases, \u201cHaven\u2019t you eaten already?\u201d and \u201cWhich one are you again?\u201d<\/p>\n
Essentially, it means that repeating past experiences is impossible as time changes all things.<\/p>\n
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Say cheese-y! (L to R) Nia Vardalos stars as \u201cToula\u201d and John Corbett stars as \u201cIan\u201d in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. <\/span>Credit: <\/span> Courtesy of Yannis Drakoulidis \/ Focus Features<\/cite><\/p>\n Oh, how I wish someone had shared this gem with Nia Vardalos, writer, producer, star and (this time round) director of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.<\/em><\/p>\n For those who don\u2019t recall, a Big Fat Greek reminder: In 2002, Vardalos wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding<\/em>, a romantic comedy based on experiences in her own extended family of Greek immigrants.<\/p>\n Vardalos played Toula Portokalos, a 30-something daughter from a traditional Greek-American family who lose their minds when she falls for Ian Miller (John Corbett), a decidedly non-Greek high school teacher.<\/p>\n The film became a surprise hit, taking an all-time worldwide gross of $567 million against a budget of only $7.5 million, being praised by critics and earning Vardalos an Oscar nomination for the screenplay.<\/p>\n The first My Big Fat Greek Wedding film was a surprise hit, earning Nia Vardalos an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.<\/span><\/p>\n Since then, she has been trying to recapture that magic, first with a short-lived 2003 TV sitcom spinoff, My Big Fat Greek Life<\/em>, then a disappointing 2016 sequel to the film, and now My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3<\/em>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Vardalos, the proof is in the proverb: you really can\u2019t step in the same river twice or, it seems, three times.<\/p>\n On paper, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 <\/em>seeks to move the story forward by revisiting the past: Toula and her entire extended family must honour their father\u2019s dying wish by returning to his village in Greece and attending a reunion with his childhood friends.<\/p>\n Sadly, there is some truth in this narrative device, which incorporates the real-life passing of Michael Constantine, the actor who played the family\u2019s patriarch, Gus, in the first two films.<\/p>\n But mostly, it <\/em>feels more like an excuse for the cast to spend a few months filming in Greece, not that you can blame them; Corfu looks idyllic, and there are just enough drone shots of the Acropolis to make you appreciate its glory.<\/p>\n Perhaps unsurprisingly, Greece steals the show while the rest of the cast struggles to get out of holiday mode. John Corbett, who is having the strangest career renaissance of all time, doesn\u2019t appear to know if he\u2019s playing Aidan in And Just Like That\u2026<\/em> or Ian in My Big Fat Greek Wedding<\/em>, but no one seems to mind.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n