When “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was released 21 years agoit was truly lightning in a bottle – a charming little romantic comedy that became a huge phenomenon, grossing $241 million domestically.

The attempt to recreate the magic failed miserably in the 2016 sequel, so now here we are giving it one more try in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.” While the latest effort is slightly better than the previous film, its still pretty miserable – a pale imitation of the original that plays more like a travel ad for Greece than an actual feature film.

The latest installment sees Toula (Nia Vardalos) and the rest of the Portokalos family dealing with the loss of the head of the family and Toula’s father Gus and the declining health of Toula’s mother Maria (Lainie Kazan).

Toula, husband Ian (John Corbett), daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) and a few more family members head to Greece for a family reunion. While there Toula is hopeful of completing her father’s dying wish – delivering a journal he kept to a trio of childhood friends.

The rather thin plot serves as an excuse to shift locations from Chicago to Greece – continuing the 2023 trend of undercooked screenplays being cropped up by beautiful cinematography of exotic locations around the world.

After writing the screenplay for the first two films, Vardalos steps behind the camera for the first time in the series. Her direction can best be described as shaky, with the film never able to get any flow or rhythm. It all feels like a bunch of random scenes thrown together around some gorgeous shots of Greece that makes it easy to see why anyone would agree to be part of this project.

Of course it’s hard to get any clear focus from a directorial standpoint when the screenplay is just as scattershot. Vardalos overplays every comedic stereotype possible in the film – with all the jokes that worked in the original now stale and dated. Some of the subplots feel like they were taken from rejected ideas from sitcoms, while the performances are mediocre at best. Only Kampouris and Andrea Martin as the wise-cracking Aunt Voula get any resemblance of substance to work with – and even that is minimal at best.

It all builds to a final act that includes a wedding – a rather random event in a film that is nothing but a series of random events. It’s clear that Vardalos means well, but at this point it becomes obvious that the first film was something that can’t be duplicated – no matter how hard she tries.

Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett

Directed by: Nia Vardalos

Rating: PG-13 for suggestive material and some nudity

Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow)

Grade: D-