The New Zealand film ‘Sione’s Wedding’ is set in the heart of Auckland, amongst the local Samoan community. Within a month the community has a big celebration taking place, the wedding of one of their favourite son’s, Sione (Pua Magasiva). Sione and his fiancé can’t wait for the big day except Sione is agonising whether to invite his brother, Michael (Robbie Magasiva).

Michael is part of a rowdy group called the Duckrockers. The group has been together since they were sixteen, and are now looking down the barrel at turning 30. The group, comprising ladies man Michael, softie Albert (Oscar Kightley), weird one Stanley (Iaheto Ah Hi) and party boy, Sefa (Shimpal Lelisi), have had a terrible reputation within the community of behaving outrageously, especially at weddings. He doesn’t want them to spoil his special occasion.

Sione comes up with a solution. He invites Michael and his group to his wedding on one condition; they each have to bring a respectable girlfriend to the wedding, which will make sure they behave. The Duckrockers have one month to get it together. There is no way that Michael is going to miss his younger brothers’ wedding, so the pressure is on…

I really wanted to like ‘Sione’s Wedding’. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. I expected to see a film about a group of good time lads getting up to mischief who somehow manage to get over the line, and see it through the big day. I expected the film to hone in and be a celebration of Samoan culture, which thankfully it did!

Director Chris Graham’s film started on this basis, and it was great fun, but then somewhere in the filmmaking Graham and writer James Griffin decided the Duckrocker boys would reform and that, in the end, all the boys would marry the girls they brought along.. I just couldn’t buy it! The film lost credibility. A fatal flaw.