My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray review

Oct 27, 2023- Permalink

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is another attempt to cash in on the wildly successful first installment of the franchise, a word-of-mouth success that captivated audiences and grossed $368 million against a budget of $5 million. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, starring, written and – for the first time – directed by Nia Vardalos, has Toula, Ian, and her extended loving, loud, and crazy Greek family actually heading to Greece for the first time in the franchise. Toula’s father, Gus, has passed and his dying wish was that his detailed journal be given to his three childhood best friends. With her family in tow, Toula heads off to Greece to fulfill his wish. It’s relatively harmless fun (a phrase never used in ringing endorsements) set in a beautiful country, but never captures the magic that was the first film. Vardalos is joined in the cast by John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Lainie Kazan, and Andrea Martin. Universal has just released the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray and I had a chance to take a look.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It’s not a showstopping transfer and detail isn’t as sharp as we’ve come to expect from Blu-ray. The colour palette is bright, with rich blues and natural greens, so at least the Greek scenery is showcased in that way. Given how beautiful Greece is, it’s a shame that the video presentation isn’t top-notch.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Spanish DTS 5.1 track. The Canadian version drops Spanish for a French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH and Spanish, with French replacing Spanish on the Canadian version. Anyone else think it’s weird that there’s not a Greek option? The surrounds don’t get a lot of action, but in one club scene they pull you into the action enough that you’ll start a drink tab. They also get some use with atmospheric sounds and some elements of the bright and dynamic score. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The US version comes with the Blu-ray, a DVD copy and a Digital code. Both the DVD and the code are dropped for the Canadian pressing. Please don’t get me started on the weird AI-generated/enhanced cover art, but man oh man, the faces and hands just look off. Bonus materials include audio commentary by Nia Vardalos, a gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, a look at Nia’s writing and directing, a “making of” featurette, and an extended take of the wedding drum song.

With a story lighter than a baklava and good but not great audio/video, the My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Blu-ray is only for hardcore fans of the franchise. If you just have a passing interest, catch it on streaming.