Lately, there are many stories on dysfunctional families being picked up by filmmakers. There have been many films and television shows in the last few years that have explored this theme, be it in comedy or a serious drama genre. Disaster Holiday, a South African Netflix Original, is about a workaholic father who is struggling to find the right balance between his work life and his children.
Spoilers Ahead
Was Joseph a workaholic?
Disaster Holiday began with Joseph rushing from his work to meet his wife, Nandi. Both were supposed to meet his children at school, but thanks to his non-stop work, they were late. His children, Zamo, Junior, and Lily, and ex-wife Dora were angry for obvious reasons and were losing hope in him even though he had planned a Zanzibar trip with them and Nandi. Dora asked him to be there for his children rather than work tirelessly.
Why did Joseph plan a road trip to Durban?
Joseph was working in the marketing department of a toilet paper roll company. His boss, John, had given him and his colleague Tyrone the task of coming up with a strong marketing plan for their product. The person who can come up with the best marketing plan would be able to retain the job. Joseph was in panic mode as he was in no position to lose his job, and the same was the situation with Tyrone as well. All three decided to meet in Durban with the final presentation, and this meant Joseph would have to cancel his Zanzibar vacation. Dora brought up Joseph’s unavailability to the family counselor, who would decide if he could continue meeting his children or not. Joseph said that he was punctual about sending the alimony and child support, and he was working hard so that he could provide them monetary support on a regular basis. The counselor asked him to be more mindful about the work-life balance, or else he would lose his privileges to meet his children. Joseph came up with the idea of taking a road trip with his children and wife, Nandi, to Durban instead of doing the Zanzibar vacation. Dora was skeptical about this move, but the counselor approved of it.
Did Joseph and family face many obstacles?
Joseph had to let his children know that they were going to do a road trip to Durban instead of flying to Zanzibar. His three kids were not happy with this decision, especially Junior, who was a social media influencer and had announced on his page about Zanzibar. He also randomly mentioned a dancing traffic policewoman in Durban who had become famous. Nandi made him promise that he wouldn’t work on this trip. He agreed to her request, but it was a lie.
The children reluctantly agreed to the plan, and the journey had a rocky start. Joseph accidentally drove the car into a ditch to save them from getting into a crash. Their car almost drowned in a nearby water body due to Zamo’s negligence. Thankfully, their luggage was safe, especially Joseph’s laptop, which was important for his presentation. The road trip was turning into a disaster as the tow truck driver took the family to his mother’s bed and breakfast, which was filled with drunkards. Joseph had finished working on the presentation when his family was sleeping and was desperate to leave the place and make it to Durban. Since his car was not ready, the owner of the bed and breakfast offered him her old car that was faulty but big enough to fit the family and their luggage.
What happened to Joseph on reaching Durban?
The family was excited about the trip to Durban, especially the youngest, Lily, who wanted to go to the beach with her family. Joseph realized he’d forgotten his laptop bag at the bed and breakfast. He was dragged to the beach by his children and Nandi, and he ended up having a good time. Joseph had a serious conversation with his oldest daughter, Zamo, about how he was proud of breaking the generational poverty curse and making sure his children were given everything. Zamo broke his bubble by asking him basic questions about her choice of subject for college next year. Joseph did not know the answer, and realized he had missed many important aspects of his children’s lives in his race to earn more money.
Was Nandi livid at Joseph?
While at the beach, Joseph realized he was up for the presentation in a while. Nandi asked him the reason for his hurry, and Joseph had to let her know the truth behind the Durban trip. Nandi was angry, as he had promised that this would be a family trip. He’d lied throughout their journey, and she learned the Durban trip was the reason he’d cancelled the Zanzibar vacation.
Around the same time, Lily had disappeared, sending everyone in the family into a panic. Everyone was helplessly searching for Lily, while she had in fact walked into an underwater zoo. Joseph was also getting calls from his ex-wife Dora from time to time, but he kept assuring her that the kids were alright. He had to choose between going back to collect his laptop or looking for Lily, and he chose the latter, which was a sign that he was indeed a concerned father. He also knew Dora was capable of snatching his happiness away, and hence he lied to her to prove that he was capable of taking care of the children.
Joseph, in a haste to find his daughter, accidentally got hold of another child and was arrested for the same. Joseph obviously lost his chance to deliver his presentation and was unable to connect with Nandi. He now knew he would lose his job and he wasn’t afraid since he wanted to know where Lily was. Joseph did not want to contact his children as it would alarm them, and they might inform Dora about this situation. He had to contact Tyrone, who was quick to reach the station. To Tyrone’s surprise, Nandi was at the station as well, who learned that Joseph had called him and not his family. She was angry because she assumed Joseph contacted Tyrone about work, indicating that he still chose his career over his family. Nandi felt Joseph was too much of a workaholic, and to teach him a lesson, she did not pay the bail money. She wanted him to stay in jail for a night to make him pay for choosing work over his family for the millionth time.
Was Joseph fired from his job?
Joseph was helpless in the jail, and he was bailed out on the insistence of his jailer, who was fed up with his whining. This was a random reason to bail someone out of prison; since this was a comedy drama, this jarring occurrence could be forgotten. Nandi informed Zamo, Junior, and Lily that their father was in prison and he would find a way to get out and be ready for the presentation. The children also realize their father had lied to them and was here for his work, not to spend time with them. This was the reason all four of them decided to leave for Johannesburg, their hometown, without him. It was rather odd for the four of them to abandon the man they loved just out of pure spite.
Nandi learned from Tyrone’s wife about the presentation that would be make or break for Joseph and Tyrone. It was too late, but Nandi realized that she could not let Joseph lose his job because of her misunderstanding. She was quick to deduce that the only way to help her husband was to get the laptop from the bed and breakfast. This was quick thinking by Nandi, who loved her husband a lot. She knew the job was important for him, and she did not want to be the reason behind him losing everything he had been working for. Nandi told the children about the mistake she had made, and she knew the way to rectify it. All four of them did that in a matter of an hour. This was rather quick, because in the beginning of the film, the distance between the bed and breakfast and the city of Durban was considerable. Since this was a comedy-drama, the suspension of disbelief was acceptable.
Joseph reached the hotel to learn that his family was at the airport, flying back to Johannesburg. He decided to head to the airport to speak to them and make them stay. On the way, he was stopped by the social media influencer + traffic policewoman, who Junior had mentioned and she was the only person who had a genuine solution to help him find his family. She used her social media handle to send a message to Junior, and he received it. The family was asked to come back to the hotel to meet him. There was confusion from this point as many plots came together all convoluted at the hotel in the end. The movie ended with Nandi and the children reaching her hotel as instructed. They wanted to meet Joseph and apologize for underestimating his effort to keep the family afloat. To their shock, Dora was in the hotel, as she sensed there was something off about Joseph repeatedly letting her know that the kids were alright. Call it the mother’s instinct; she followed it to find out that Joseph was in prison and the Durban trip had been for work all along. Dora needed to press this point and use it against him and make sure he never got to meet Zamo, Junior, or Lily again.
Joseph reached the hotel with the help of the traffic police officer and realized it was too late, since John had already chosen Tyrone for the job. Joseph tried his level best but he realized John had fired him without a second thought, even though Joseph had given years of his life for the company. He soon apologized to Dora for choosing work over his life. Joseph improved emotionally and was willing to admit his mistake and work on it. He was promising to be an emotionally available father who would want to be involved in what was happening in his children’s lives. Zamo and Junior stepped in and claimed this was all a part of the presentation Joseph had made for the company, around a family-oriented catchphrase, attempting to salvage his job. The children understood their father was honest and wanted to give him a chance since it was not too late. Joseph liked his job, and the children made sure he could retain it with this impromptu move.
Joseph initially was given the job because of this elaborate presentation, which means they appreciated his efforts; however, he turned it down. He knew this work would further take away the time he needed to spend with his wife and children. His boss, however, gave him the perk of flexible hours, and Joseph asked if Tyrone could join, as he would not be able to take the burden of the department single handedly. Joseph was serious about wanting to spend more time with his children, and he was glad to have received the support he needed from his boss and Tyrone.
As the title states, the holiday almost turned out to be a disaster, but in the end, everyone got what they wanted. The children got their father back in their lives, Joseph kept his job, and Nandi announced she also wanted to have a child with him. This stunned Joseph, as he would have one more mouth to feed and probably would have to work harder for that. Since he promised to be there for his three children from Dora, he was overwhelmed by the thought of having a fourth kid and having a fresh start with it.
