It’s been 25 years since the last Father of the Bride movie, and 2020’s trend of virtual cast reunions has finally brought the original cast of Nancy Meyers’ iconic comedies back for a threequel. “Father of the Bride Part 3 (ish)” revisits the Banks family as their socially distanced Zoom call turns into a Zoom wedding, with Kieran Culkin’s character Matty surprising his relatives with a last minute virtual ceremony.
Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and George Newburn returned to play their original characters, and Martin Short also appeared as wedding planner–turned-officiant Franck Eggelhoffer. Superstars Florence Pugh and Ben Platt stepped in to play Megan Banks and George Banks-MacKenzie, last seen as newborns at the end of Father of the Bride II. Alexandra Shipp stars as Matty’s fiancée Rachel — whose father is guest star Robert de Niro.
The reunion special directed viewers to donate to World Central Kitchen, a charity that provides cooked meals to survivors and personnel in the wake of natural disasters and, more recently, to hospital workers in the COVID-19 crisis.