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medcodepro
Reviews
Sione's Wedding (2006)
Pretty good, but everyone still missing the point ....
"Sione's Wedding" was pretty good. It wasn't an earth-shattering, pants-messing, orgasm-inducing, child-bearing, milk-out-the-nose, change-the-world-in-one-day epic, but it was still pretty good. Yes, the plot was predictable, some of the jokes were tired, not all of the acting was spectacular, but to expect something that changes the world is pretty unfair. There are HUGE stars and studio's who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to create a lot less. I rarely see a genre that is so divisive and inspires so much animosity as comedy. Why? Nothing places people more squarely into the "like" or "absolutely hate" category.
I found "Sione's Wedding" to be a good story about men, who just happen to be Samoan, who have a typical "Peter-pan complex" and are rebelling against growing up every chance they get until they actually see the benefit of maturity and wisdom. This is a common and modern theme. Some of the moments were genuinely touching and some of the jokes really really funny.
I can tell you this, though, it is the only full-length motion picture comedy with a fully Samoan ensemble cast that I've ever seen, at least here in the states. Doesn't this account for something? Not bad for a first try, I say.
Bro'Town (2004)
Brilliant and current, but not for the arrogant or jaded!
For whatever odd reason, when I moved to southern California from Colorado as a young man, a majority of my friends and family wound up being Samoan. This is how I was first exposed to bro'Town months ago. Having said that, you really don't need to know much about Samoans ,or New Zealand for that matter, to "get it". In fact, if anything it is the Kiwi accent that requires a little hard listening at times, but well worth it. The humor is exactly what you would expect from 5 pre-pubescent (4 Samoan and 1 Maori) boys, yet is broad and common enough for any adult who actually had a childhood (and still has a sense of humor).
bro'Town is silly, irreverent, topical, politically sharp and heart-felt at times, like many of its contemporaries (South Park, Family Guy, The Boondocks etc...) I understand that bro'Town isn't "Waiting for Godot" and I have a hard time believing that the Naked Samoans are trying to emulate Samuel Beckett when writing. But for what it is, purely crafted ½ hour adult pop-culture cartoon comedies for 18-30yo males, it is sublime. My friends and I are still quoting Jeff da Maori, yet we somehow still manage to read books with big words. Hmmmmm.
I am anxiously waiting for season 3 at this moment.
Morningside for LIFE!