Disconnect: The Wedding Planner review: A laid-back experience lacking story-depth

Disconnect: The Wedding Planner is a Nigerian romantic comedy that centers on Otis’ attempts to overcome many challenges and successfully organize a “Yoruba wedding” with the aid of his pals. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Otis, is in a frosty marriage, possibly because of his promiscuous character, but continues to remain in the relationship with his partner, solely to raise their child. 

Although Otis pursues non-romantic casual relations with many women, at one point, flickers of emotional connection are revealed between Otis and his friend, TK. 

Otis inherited his mother’s company, which is running at a loss. But he turns a blind eye to it and has roped in his friend, Khalid, to help run it. Otis also tries to secure investments from his Nigerian friend Dale and promises to arrange a destination Yoruba wedding for Dale in a seaside resort in Mombasa. 

But the wedding planner Otis entrusted disappears with all his money, leaving him no choice, but to rope in his friends -Khalid, TK, Richard, Celine, and Judy- for help.

Richard, Celine, and Judy are also going through their own difficult times. Judy realized that his fiancé is intimate with her father’s office secretary. 

On the other hand, Richard and Celine were also going through a difficult time understanding and accepting each other.  The situation gets complicated when Richard and Judy get involved with each other. 

They seem to regret it; Richard then becomes determined to make his relationship with Celine work and proposes to her.

Meanwhile, the marriage party arrives and realizes that Otis arranged nothing like the Yoruba wedding they asked for. However, they all work together and overcome the initial hiccup. 

On the day of marriage, as Richard reveals to Otis and Khalid on his plan to marry Celine, he comes to know about Celine’s past sexual relationship with her old friend Josh and lashes out at Celine. 

At this, TK, who knew about Richard and Judy’s amorous interaction, asks him to reveal that to Celine as well. Otis also gets upset with Dale as he changes his plan to invest in Otis’ company. 

Outside the marriage venue, Celine and Richard forgive each other, and the duo patches up with each other. 

Later in the evening TK comes to Otis and lets him know that she has emotions for him, but Otis is unable to express his own emotions for her. Heartbroken, TK leaves telling that Otis is too scared.

However, Otis is later shown meeting Khalid and apologizing to him for dragging him into his failing company. Otis then meets TK and admits that she has always been there to help him and acknowledges that she is the only person he feels vulnerable with. 

Meanwhile, Celine and Richard are shown together and Judy and Khalid too; both ladies are pregnant.

Performances 

Although the movie deals with love, infidelity, lust, heartbreak, and second chances, there is little remarkable in the performances. Pascal Tokodi portrays the lead character Otis in the film. 

The actor has done a decent job of bringing the character to life on screen. Rest of the crew have also done their parts satisfactorily. However, the movie has nothing close to a ‘brilliant acting moment’ and fails to captivate the audience.  

Positives

The cinematography is good and has managed to give the viewers a glimpse of the beauty of Kenyan landscapes. The color palette blends in well to match ‘the white and blue city’ of Mombasa.

The movie also comes out well in terms of ‘cultural education’, helping the viewers appreciate various elements of African and particularly Nigerian culture. The movie is also easy to watch, with no plot complications.

Negatives

The story lacks depth and the dialogues do not do justice to the seriousness of underlying themes. Further, ‘character evolution’ seems to be completely overlooked, making them too shallow. 

While too many characters are brought in to add depth to the main characters, most of them get dropped mid-way or end up useless. 

Verdict

Disconnect: The Wedding Planner seems like shabby homework, done with too little effort and enthusiasm. While the plot, theme, and settings were all interesting, the script killed the movie. An effortless watch, if you have nothing else to do; but far from a must-watch and an absolute no for a second watch.

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Also Read: Disconnect: The Wedding Planner ending explained: Does Otis plan the wedding successfully?