Siones 2: Unfinished Business

Plot

Albert (Oscar Kightley) and Tania (Madeleine Sami) are now happily married, but cant quite seal the deal with a baby. While Sefa (Shimpal Lelisi) and Leilani (Teuila Blakely) have got two kids, they arent married despite Sefas proposal. Stanley (Iaheto Ah Hi) is now a trainee Deacon in the Future Church, Michael (Robbie Magasiva) has moved to Australia, and Bolo (Dave Fane) ditched his job with Sefa’s failing business to work for Sione (Pua Magasiva). As adulthood drives them apart, a crisis brings them back together: when Bolo disappears, the Minister (Nathaniel Lees) gathers up the boys to find him, somewhere, in the world’s largest Polynesian city.

Cast

Production

Writers; Oscar Kightley and James Griffin first proposed a sequel to Siones Wedding in 2006 but no plans came to fruition. They decided that they wanted to focus on other projects but the idea remained appealing and after rounding up the original cast, the two decided to write the film. Producer John Barnett was always keen on a sequel but Griffin and Kightley needed more time to decide and after toying with several ideas, decided to have the same characters in the same situation, only 5 years later. As Kightley was friends with the actors and a star of the film himself, the cast spent a lot of time developing the characters. Whilst fundraising for the first film took 4 years, the sequel only took 15 months. In March 2011, it was confirmed that filming was soon to begin on a sequel, titled: "Siones Wedding II" that was to be released in January 2012. Filming began in April 2011. The cast found filming the sequel to be a lot more fun than it was filming the original, partly as they were comfortable in what they were doing. In April it was confirmed the film was to be written by Griffin and Kightley and may deal with the subject of death. The film was shot around Auckland, including areas in Auckland’s St Kevins Arcade, Karangahape Rd, Ponsonby Rd and Grey Lynn. The films trailer debuted online in July 2011.

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews, with Steve Kilgallon of stuff.co.nz praising the films dark but clever plot, the character of Albert and gave the film four stars out of five. Tenani French of View New Zealand also praised the decision to tackle a tougher storyline while maintaining much of the comedic charm of the first film. Russell Baillie of The New Zealand Herald gave the film a negative review, pointing out plot weaknesses and criticizing the "cartoonish" feel of the film. However he praised the broad comedy and "conviction" of newcomer Kirk Torrance. Kirk Torrances character and the Australian siblings were noted by Press reviewer James Croot as the only flaws in a well-written and well-acted illustration of Polynesian life in New Zealand. Dominic Corry of The New Zealand Herald entered the cinema hoping to enjoy the film but found it unsatisfying. Graeme Tuckett of The Dominion Post gave the film a scathing review, calling it "plotless" and awarding it one and a half stars out of five. A review in The National Business Review, criticized the high amount of product placement in the film.

The film did well commercially, taking in $723,000 over its opening weekend. Thus making it the highest opening weekend of any New Zealand made film.