Starring: Banky Wellington, Adesua Etomi, Richard Mofe Damijo, Iretiola Doyle

Synopsis:
A virgin bride’s wedding day turns into a circus when problems surface among the guests.

Review:
Dunni (Adesua Etomi) made a beautiful bride but her special day came close to being anything but. She was set to marry Dozie (Banky Wellington), an ex-playboy from a well-to-do family. She wasn’t from money and of course his snooty mother didn’t approve. Against all odds, the two set out to share a life together and the excitement commenced at their wedding reception.

Havoc was the first thing to crash the party when Dozie’s ex-girlfriend appeared after trying to seduce him only hours before. Competition ensued between the two families and a flash drive of Dozie’s wild bachelor party threatened to ruin the day. At the head of it all was an overzealous wedding planner whose biggest challenge was to control the festivity. 

Let’s Talk. The premise here is a virgin marrying a playboy. Throw in some drama, champagne, and dancing, and a wedding party it is! The day turned into an enticing celebration with various secrets revealed on the wrong day.

The African cuisine was nothing but an appetizer to the main course of infidelity, prejudice, and social status. Actually the movie was pretty similar to Pascal Amanfo’s “Family Album” where a newlywed couple also experienced problems on their joyous day. The core difference is that this is comedic whereas Pascal’s movie was dramatic. 

What’s impressive is how the filmmakers successfully captured the vibe of a Nigerian wedding from wardrobe, food, music, and dancing. Multiple storylines were carefully woven that didn’t overburden.

The wedding didn’t escape drama but quite frankly, some of it wasn’t that serious. For instance, the flash drive that revealed Dozie’s bachelor party was insignificant. He was having a good time like he was supposed to on his last night of being single. Also, Dozie’s father had a side chick that appeared at the reception. So what? She served as the threat but her presence was ideally uneventful.

Dozie’s ex-girlfriend arrived to spout jealousy but since he was a philanderer you would think there would have been more than one girlfriend having a fit. Crowd control and running out of food were real issues but the question of the day was whether Dozie could bury his player days to commit to one woman.

Humor was indeed a factor, especially the prayer at the wedding! 

The cast was an ambitious lineup of actors from young to mature and they even included a “token white” character played by Daniella Down. I’m all for inclusive casting; it’s a reflection of the real world.

The Wedding Party combined ingredients of love, secrets, and tribal differences, and like a bowl of good soup it hit the spot.  RECOMMEND