Story

Following the death of her father, Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) is determined to fulfil his final wish and bring his personal journal back to Greece to be given to the 3 best friends whom he left behind so long ago.

With an invitation to a village reunion, Toula, her husband Ian (John Corbett) and daughter Paris (Elena Kamouris) set off on the adventure of a lifetime. They are joined by Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin), Toula’s brother Nick (Louis Mandylor) and Aristotle (Elias Kacavas), Paris’ would-be-boyfriend. They’re greeted at the airport by Victory (Melina Kotselu), a distant cousin, who is also the reunion organiser and village mayor.

Upon arrival in the village, the Portokalos family soon realises that it’s largely deserted, save for a few families including a strange woman whose adult son turns out to be more closely related to Toula and Nick than anyone would have imagined. As the date of the reunion draws near and Toula is no closer to finding her father’s former friends, she enlists the help of her cousins, Nikki (Gia Carides) and Angelo (Joey Fatone), to track them down.

Meanwhile, Paris is dealing with her own challenges with relationships, studies, and plans for her future, while Qamar (Stephanie Nur), a Syrian refugee staying with a family in the village, has fallen in love with a Greek man. The opposition to Qamar’s marriage is similar to Toula and Ian’s experience years before.

As the date of the wedding approaches and still no-one has RSVP-ed for the reunion, will the remnants of the small town gather to celebrate the love of a young couple who share something far more important than culture? Will anyone actually show up for the reunion and, more importantly, will Toula ever fulfil her father’s final wish?

Themes

The challenges of immigrant families; death of a loved one; family pressures and responsibilities; refugees; intercultural marriage; cultural stereotypes

Violence

There’s no violence in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.

Sexual references

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 has some sexual references. For example:

• A Greek woman grabs Paris by the chest, feeling her breast and then grabbing and slapping her bottom. She then grabs others by the buttocks as well, saying that their lovers will have ‘nothing to hold on to’.
• A couple is told to ‘have sex on Easter like everyone else’.
• A drunk Toula asks Ian if he wants to go make out in the chicken coop.
• Voula reminds Toula and Ian that they ‘used to make out like badgers in a car with a bag full of Oreos’.
• A character says that she used to make out so much that her face is still chapped.
• Toula and Nick are told to ‘go away and do it, you little badgers’.
• Voula notes that Victory seems to be non-binary. She tries to confirm this and voices her support.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 shows some use of substances. For example:

• Toula and Voula drink shots while searching for old friends. They later return drunk after having drinks at every place they visited.
• There are drinks served and consumed during meals, celebrations and at a nightclub.

Nudity and sexual activity

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

• Nick takes off his robe while FaceTiming his sister. He appears to be completely naked, although his genitals are not shown.
• Toula and Ian kiss.
• Nick showers outside, presumably naked, although only his bare chest is shown.
• Voula wears an apron (which is repeatedly shown) with a woman’s bare breasts on the front.
• A woman explains how Toula’s father was ‘with her’ before he came to America and that her son is Toula’s half-brother.
• Numerous naked people are shown on a beach, but there are props that conceal their genitals.
• Paris goes to a beach and soon notices that everyone there is naked. She takes off all her clothes as she gets into the water, where she encounters Voula and looks back to see her naked uncle Nick, standing on the beach holding a bottle in front of his crotch.
• Paris and another character kiss passionately. They are told – no babies until after they graduate.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or mentioned in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3:

• iPhone
• Windex
• Oreos.

Coarse language

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 has some coarse language, including ‘I suck’, ‘Jesus’ (used as an exclamation), ‘shut up’ and ‘damn’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is the third movie in the series by writer-director Nia Vardalos. The movie features much of the original cast and plenty of the same sort of culturally based humour that made the first movie so successful. It’s likely to be most enjoyed by older teenagers, mature audiences and fans of the previous movies.

The main messages from My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 are that time can’t stand still and things change, but families stick together, no matter what.

Values in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 that you could reinforce with your children include honesty, respect for the wishes of others, cultural understanding and openness, acceptance of others, especially those who are different, love, determination and loyalty.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the importance of:

• communicating openly and honestly
• looking beyond a person’s culture or ethnicity, to see the person for who they are rather than as a stereotype.