Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and DVD from writer/director Nia Vardalos and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the return of the family with MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3.

It has been a difficult year for the Miller and Portokalos family with deaths, Maria’s (Lainie Kazan) illness, Paris’ college problems and Nick back home going through a mid-life crisis. Toula (Nia Vardalos) decides it is time to take Gus’s journal back home to Greece and to his childhood friends.

Of course, this means the whole family is going including Ian (John Corbett), Nick (Louis Mandylor), Paris (Elena Kampouris), Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin), Aunt Frieda (Maria Vacratsis), and Aristotle (Elias Kacavas). In Greece they are met by Victory (Melina Kotselou), the town’s mayor who wants to have a gathering and celebrate now that the Portokalos family is home.

They meet Qamar (Stephanie Nur), Christos (Giannis Vasilottos) and a man named Peter (Alexis Georgoulis) who turns out to be a surprise for the whole family. Ian discovers a list of the people that Toula has been looking for and she calls on Angelo (Joey Fatone) and Nikki (Gia Carides) to do their own bit of digging.

All of the problems each of them has slowly begin to dissolve when each realizes that there is nothing more important than love, life and family – even if they aren’t all Greek!

Vardalos as Toula makes every attempt to bring the story of the Portokalos family full circle still based in love and togetherness, even if every member of the family has their own quirks. The relationship between Toula and Nick a great example and actually feels stronger in the midst of their Greek trip. I love that Vardalos doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and stays in the parameter that brought her films such success.

Mandylor as Nick gets a chance to show what he’s got and even more so the extent of his feelings for family and the importance Greece has for him. The humor that Nick has been known for is still there, a bit of the spacey as well but his heart is just so wonderful and I appreciate seeing it. Corbett as Ian just goes along to get along which is who he is, always supportive of Toula and the Portokalos family. Even though he is going through his own sadness, he is all about the Greek.

Martin as Aunt Voula is everything I ever wanted in an aunt. She is nutty, smart, nutty and hilarious. Vacratsis as Aunt Frieda is an amazing sidekick to Voula and carries her own set of wise saying that I love. Kampouris as Paris is coming to terms with grown up problems with less hassle from her mom and more worry from her dad. Kacavas as Aristotle isn’t about to give up on love and hopes to find it once again with Paris.

Carides as Nikki is back with her big hair, loud voice and eyes for any sexy guy she can get her retina’s on and I’m here for it. Fatone as Angelo is always up for an adventure if it means celebrating being Greek when he gets there. Kotselou as Victory is a mayor who doesn’t believe in failure. Gathering the family together for a huge celebration, no one is going to tell her that it isn’t going to work.

Georgoulis as Peter has something to share with the Portokalos and it the reaction is one of thrill and acceptance, lucky Greek! Nur as Qamar is in the same pickle as Toula once was as her heart is given to non-Greek Christos. Vasilottos isn’t about to let a little thing like not being Greek stop him from the love of his life.

Other cast include Spyros Kasfiks as Thanasis, Menelaos Ntaflos as Dimos, Ektoras Kaloudis as George and Anthi Andreopoulou as Alexandra.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

MOVIES ANYWHERE gives viewers the ability to download the Movies Anywhere App. With that you can view films by downloading or streaming to your favorite device using a Digital Code. For more information on Movies Anywhere please visit www.MoviesAnywhere.com.

Bonus Features include Gag Reel, Deleted & Extended Scenes, On Set with Nia Vardalos, Opa! The Making MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, Wedding Drum Song – Extended Take, and Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Nia Vardalos.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3 picks up the Portokalos and Miller family like we all have never been separated. Time passes as time does and things begin to change for everyone and the families are no exception. The good, the sad and the chaos in between are still prevalent in this third installment. Although its probably not as loud as most families, it feels like friends have come to visit once again with this cast.

Taking it to Greece is a little reminiscent of Vardalos’ 2009 MY LIFE IN RUINS, I don’t mind it at all. I mean I think we should all create what we are good at and clearly, Vardalos is good at being Greek, writing about being Greek and acting in all the ways she sees her Greek heritage. That’s a pretty cool thing to my way of thinking.

Although the cast isn’t totally complete with the absence of Gus and the limited role of Kazan’s Maria, it leaves the door open to new characters. Calling them new characters seems a little odd considering it feels as if they’ve been there all along. This is just a good time with a family we have been with since 2002 and its one heck of a 20+ year relationship which, if you think about it, makes us all Greek in this family!

In the end – it is all about the Opa!

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