Ginger oo! Ginger! I come bearing news of a certain sequel which I believe you would all agree had a much greater prequel. Like a conversation I had with my editor, The Wedding Party 2 (TWP2) did not tank its predecessor, not even by a long shot. If you saw the first film, you must have been amazed at the creativity that went into the comedy and drama, and the originality of its Nigerian setting (nothing was held back). This installation however did not quite meet the expectations and the reputation we had hoped it would uphold (almost made my popcorn taste bad). So as much as I had hoped to give a positive Buzz Review Of The Wedding Party 2 – Destination Dubai, it just didn’t create that Christmas magic.
The Good thing about the film was the plot; two people in love trying to get married against all odds and those odds included an accidental proposal (aka one chance). So we had a groom that didn’t even pop the question and the idea was brilliant but the delivery was all wrong. Simply put, there was no magic and there were a lot of distractions to the romance. This was so imminent, it was hard to focus on the real issues. So, a lot of the manifestations got me wondering if the director assumed that we had all read the script. Long story short, unlike my Buzz Review Of The Wedding Party 2 – Destination Dubai, it was bad storytelling with great actors. (Like Agbalumo with the sweet core but sour flesh…ugh!)
The actors on the other hand really seemed to have lost the emotional credibility which they showcased so well in the prequel. It was not until the final act that we got to see our favourite Tin-Tin (Sola Sobowale) get with the programme. Who would have also guessed that even Patience Ozokwor’s role would have been downplayed – well it happened. The film suffered from so much unused potential because they were being careful. Way too careful or maybe they got comfortable (Like wearing a helmet to a football match… No one wants that! *screams* red card!!!).
The comedy was not the “laugh-till-you-choke” kind and I did not see the need for some of the scenes that made the final cut. A few of the jokes were repeated so often it became annoying (kinda like my alarm set on replay). It was like a comedian family reunion going on with Saka, AY, Wafiada and Chigurl (the joke was on them really…I’m crying).
Frank Donga’s Harrison being such an important part of the film played a role that was not well exploited. Ikechukwu’s Shola was the epic fall person for the second time in a row, we all blamed him in TWP and things did not seem to change this time around. Rosy (Beverly Naya) happened to be in Dubai as well and you have to see how that turned out.
The acting was not entirely natural and the sound was very concentrated. The actors were all wearing their own mics for clarity in naturally noisy places where you cannot ask people to keep quiet or pay to have the whole place as set but we could not hear the environment or background voices and this made the film feel a little too controlled. This movie was meant to be a romantic comedy but majorly achieved a fair attempt at comedy. Most of the scenes that really got people laughing were clearly not intended to make them laugh (but did anyway…*evil smile*).
I totally loved and enjoyed TWP but this was not a great follow up at all. That said I have to let you know the reasons you should go ahead to see it anyway despite how predictable the story was. Deardre (Daniella Brown) is one of the standout performances of this flick, she went into her character so well. The handsome, well-built Nonso who I sometimes see doing his morning run was no doubt the star of the film (a girl has to daydream *double sigh*). He embraced the role of the groom and made it his own. From accepting the palm wine from his future wife to saying yes at the altar. He was stellar, his lover boy emotions could use some work. These positives were the reasons why I decided to do a Buzz Review Of The Wedding Party 2 – Destination Dubai.
It was also fun to watch Adesua Etomi’s Dunni Onwuka play a pregnant woman. The chemistry between her and Banky’s Dozie Onwuka was glowing (Why wouldn’t it be? *wink* wink*). RMD and Ireti Doyle’s Obianuju Onwuka also had a connection we never saw in part 1 and certain scenes hinted the audience on what to expect regarding the future of the franchise. The final verdict of my Buzz Review Of The Wedding Party 2 – Destination Dubai is that there was a lot of dependence on past glory and this made the creators of the franchise get comfortable.
I recommend they go back to the drawing board to figure out everything that worked great for the prequel and possibly imbibe them into the future of the franchise (star studded doesn’t essentially make a great film).
Happy partying!
I would really love to see your opinions once you see it in the comments section. But you were warned.
Let me know what you think about my Buzz Review Of The Wedding Party 2 – Destination Dubai
Buzzers Consensus:
(3 / 5)
Audience Consensus (Vote here):
Official Trailer of The Wedding Party 2 – Destination Dubai:
First apt review…kudos👏👏👏.
This 👆 portrays how I felt,at some point I got lost while watching ’cause u are wondering why the current scene took place.
I could pay to see Twp a 4th time(it was damn real) than see twp2 a 2nd time.
PS: I’m a huge fan of all the main cast, so I’m not hating.