Summary
It tries to tell too many stories without actually telling them. Characters are introduced and then swiftly dropped, plot points remain unresolved, and too many scenes are overly dramatized. There’s little rhyme or reason to the way this group of people acts.
We review the Netflix film Disconnect: The Wedding Planner, which does not contain spoilers.
Directed by the award-winning filmmaker David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga (known for Nairobi Half Life), the Nigerian rom-com Disconnect: The Wedding Planner is a sequel to the 2018 Kenyan film Disconnect. In this iteration of the series, the group of young drama-loving Nairobi residents tries to make an investor’s dream wedding a reality. The movie features most of the original cast members, including Pascal Tokodi, Brenda Wairimu, Catherine Kamau, and Brian Ogola. Veteran actor Wale Ojo makes a small but entertaining appearance.
Disconnect: The Wedding Planner Review and Plot Summary
Disconnect: The Wedding Planner starts with Otis, our lead, breaking the heart of a young woman he’s been dating by making it painfully clear he’s not interested in a serious relationship. What he is interested in, however, is to secure an investment from his Nigerian friend, Dale, who’s busy planning his wedding with Rita. Desperate to save his dying company, Otis promises to arrange a destination Yoruba wedding for Dale in the seaside city of Mombasa. Of course, the wedding planner Otis hired to help disappears with all his money, meaning the poor playboy is forced to travel to the beach resort and plan the event himself.
There are a lot of characters introduced in this film, making it a bit difficult to keep up. Otis, the protagonist, is a divorced commitmentphobe and the mother of his child hates him (presumably for cheating on her too much.) Then, there’s TK, a successful businesswoman, and the protagonist’s main love interest, who keeps rejecting his advances because she knows he has commitment issues. Their friends, Celine and Richard have been dating for the past four years, but they seem to be constantly arguing and they’re in therapy. Sadly, their therapist is beyond useless. Otis’s best friend and business partner, Khalid, is fed up with our hero’s bad business acumen. And their other friend, Judy, has just found out her fiance was being unfaithful, so she spends a good part of the movie looking sad.
When Otis finds out he’s been scammed the scene mirrors the exact moment poor Judy finds out she’s been cheated on, with the film trying to suggest there’s even a remote similarity between these two life events. Otis responds to the news by getting drunk at work and dancing inappropriately in the middle of his office. July, on the other hand, copes with her fiance’s infidelity by sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend.
The main issue with this film is that it tries to tell too many stories without actually telling them. Characters are introduced and then swiftly dropped, plot points remain unresolved, and too many scenes are overly dramatized. There’s little rhyme or reason to the way this group of people acts. And there’s a lot of screaming. People cheat on each other left right and center, most of these people are not likable and something as simple as choosing the type of wedding cake causes an actual catfight.
Is Disconnect: The Wedding Planner on Netflix Good?
As someone unfamiliar with Kenyan or Nigerian cultures, I found the clothing, the food presented, and the wedding scenes engrossing. Despite its flaws, the film offers a lot of valuable insight, and it’s set against the stunning Monbasa backdrop. Sure, this flick is too long and confusing, the acting is underwhelming, and the ending is a bit infuriating, but setting it in a scenic location and educating the viewer elevates the viewing experience just enough to make it mildly entertaining. Especially if you’re streaming it during the cold season.
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