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How many weddings are too many? The answer is three. Three weddings are too many, and it shows in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3."

In 2002, a tiny little independent film called "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" shocked and delighted audiences, becoming a genuine word of mouth hit, going on to make $368 million at the worldwide box office. This was not the result of a headline-grabbing opening weekend; people kept seeing the movie and telling others about the funny and charming Portokalos family. As it goes in Hollywood, even a small little movie isn't immune to sequels when it generates so much money.

Another go around with the Portokalos family didn't generate as much box office cash with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" (the movie made $90 million at the worldwide box office), so it's puzzling why a third iteration was ever in the cards, given the steep drop in attendance. Writer and star Nia Vardalos returns to both of her posts this time around and adds director for the first time in this franchise.

The Portokalos family is still overbearing and intrusive in each other's lives, but everyone is getting a bit older. Toula (Vardalos) is headed off to Greece for a family reunion on her late father's side (Michael Constantine, who was wonderful as the family patriarch, passed away in 2021) and to find some of his lifelong friends to give them his journal. Her mother Maria (Lainie Kazan) is grappling with memory issues, so she stays back while Toula, her husband Ian (John Corbett), and their daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) all head to Greece for the first time. Her brother Nick (Louis Mandylor) and Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin, always the standout of these movies) go along for the trip.

The surprise success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" garnered Vardalos a richly deserved Oscar nomination for her screenplay. Twenty-one years and two movies later, Vardalos can't keep the energy alive with a screenplay that doesn't know what story it's trying to tell. The central premise is the trip to Greece but, given the title, there has to be a wedding. Vardalos somehow makes everything in her screenplay feel like an afterthought, from a shoehorned wedding to dropping the ball on a potential emotional payoff.

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3" is Vardalos's first time directing in the series but her second feature as a director (after 2009's "I Hate Valentine's Day) and she doesn't know how to create any comedic momentum. Visual gags fall flat because of the movie's tendency to cut away quickly and throw to a rooster crowing or a goat walking through the frame. It's an odd-looking movie, zapped of the charm that made the original so special 21 years ago.