By Mava John Joshua
The adage that says Never judge a book by its cover comes to life in this Ruth Kadiri’s Prime movie. It also reminds us that help can come from the most unexpected sources. Catherine never expected Funmi to become her savior during difficult times.
From this, we understand the story is centered on romance including domestic violence, love, and generosity, exemplified by Funmi’s kindness towards a stranded woman …and betrayal. Does the film meet this standard? Not really. Instead, it veers into comedy, revealing itself in the absurdity of it all. The unbelievability of the characters’ romance spurs from the writing and the dynamics of their love.
I would have rated the movie more without the romance between Funmi n Catherine as we all know it’s not all who live together most especially opposite characters that fall in love…a bit of reality should be introduced into our today’s Story telling not every time two people meet and the next thing is romance.
Let’s talk Cast:
Ruth Kadiri takes on the role of the protagonist, Christine, portraying her usual elite, classy character. Her performance in Alaye is consistent with her previous roles, offering nothing new or particularly memorable.
Samuel Perry (Broda Shaggi) brings his signature comedic persona to the film, albeit with a slight twist. Alaye provides him an opportunity to explore the emotional depth of his character, Funmi. His blend of English and pidgin gave the movie richness I must commend, while his humor is evident, his usual crassness might not appeal to everyone. Nevertheless, his established reputation and following contribute significantly to the film’s viewership.
Aloma Isaac Junior (Zic Saloma) is miscast as a menacing figure. Despite efforts to develop his character with ridiculous costumes and a quirky hairstyle, these attempts feel awkward due to poor writing, making his character come across as odd rather than interesting. Better still, he comes off as cuter than intimidating. This misalignment is evident from the first scene and undermines the initial impression Christine is supposed to have of him. However, Isaac seems to need to be more accurate in the role, especially in scenes where Funmi confronts him with a bottle and knife—Gabby’s acting as a rootless money lender needed to be more convincing and his character development was laughable and unconvincing.
Rose Afuwape’s portrayal of Eve, Christine’s friend, falls flat and lacks believability, likely due to her underwhelming acting.
In contrast, Monica Friday’s performance as Tega, Funmi’s crass counterpart, is commendable and well-balanced, her switch from English to pidgin providing a good complement to Broda Shaggi’s character. One would naturally think they would end up together alas there was a twist in which Catherin that had no chemistry with funmi fell in love within days just because he cleared her debt.
Eddie Watson as Ben, Catherine’s boyfriend, delivers a competent performance, though it doesn’t stand out significantly. One would wonder at a point how he got to know that funmi was Catherine’s flat mate as no proper introduction was done and yet we have Funmi punching Ben’s eyes.
Noticeable flaws in the film surface when Catherine returns from an outing, visibly troubled by Ben getting Engaged to another woman right in her presence and abandoning her at the venue to a messed-up kitchen. Yet the next scene shows her preparing for her boyfriend’s birthday without explanation. This gap raises questions about Catherine’s sudden mood changes and the film’s continuity.
Also, the film misses opportunities to use flashbacks to delve into Catherine’s father’s identity and other background details, leaving some aspects of the storyline underexplored. So, the movie tried to convince the viewers that despite Catherine’s house n car…plus how educated she was…she couldn’t get a loan from the bank except a loan shark… that’s unbelievable to me.
In a Nutshell it is a low-budget film, Kadiri employs few characters and fewer locations to achieve a story that would be better off on YouTube. The film is not spectacular or anything different from her usual YouTube movies. However, it could have been better if she had employed a more complex theme and in-depth story.
The film exudes a YouTube-like feel or vibe without proper planning and execution.
