Nia Vardalos and John Corbett struggle to make a success of this Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson co-produced comedy that completely lacks magic.
It was to be expected that the saga about the Portokalos family, initiated by Nia Vardalos in 2002, could not end with the second – and very average – feature film of 2016. A sequel was absolutely necessary.
This includes the death of the actor Michael Constantine, father of Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Nick (Louis Mandylor), who therefore decide to go to his home village in Greece. The pretense? The Portokalos clan family reunion.
Maria (Lainie Kazan), the mother, suffers from early dementia and stays at home while the rest of the family crosses the Atlantic and part of the Mediterranean. Greeted by Victory (Melina Kotselou), the mayor of the village (non-binary, just to tick an inclusive box without unfortunately contributing anything to the scenario), the family sets out to find the father’s childhood friends and attend a wedding and of course will make a surprising discovery.
But without the moving subject matter and touching humor of the first feature film and without the chemistry between the two main actors, with John Corbett conspicuously missing, the whole thing falls flat.
The magnificent landscapes, the blues and greens, the nature, the white houses and the visit to a rather tourist village do not allow us to forget the emptiness of the scenario. The Third Century Wedding is therefore content to be just a postcard, nothing more.