FAMILY GBESE - A Nollywood dramedy

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ABOUT THE FILM
Nnamdi Nwagba ‘Mazi Oganihu’ is a hardworking man, striving hard and working towards a promotion in the investment company Meristem where he works.

He’s a caring brother to his two siblings - a younger sister, Chioma and an older brother, Chigozie ‘Gozie’.

Nnamdi cannot wait to get married to his fiancee Yetunde, but then trouble comes knocking, and his entire life is thrown into a state of disarray. There’s chaos everywhere as he manages to land himself into even more trouble.

NY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS
The runtime is pretty impressive. I wish some other producers who have a knack for two hours long movies will take a cue. We don’t need all them elongated durations simply because you want to max out on profit. Of course, if the plot and storyline warrants it, then by all means do, if not, please keep it short and simple like this film.

Uzor Arukwe and Mike Ezuruonye in one movie; such a sweet combo. Imagine throwing IK Ogbonnaya in the mix… lol.

The storyline was beautiful as well as the plot, even though I have some reservations. Let’s leave that for later. First, let’s bring out what worked well for the movie.

Like I said, the duration was apt. The cast line up…amazing. Costume, makeup, props, setting, lighting, sound, background soundtrack with Falz the Bahd Guy... simply impeccable.

Message delivered crisp and clear, and that’s to the effect that with family, expect all sorts. But at the end of the day, blood is thicker than water. Well, in most families, though, cause there are very dysfunctional families where water appears to be thicker than blood…

…awkward things happen, and you’d wonder if it’s the same blood that flows through their veins in those families. That’s however not the POV here, though, so let’s stick to script, shall we? The focus herein is the positive outcome of this particular family.

All the actors delivered, but my best acts are Genoveva Umeh, who played Ololade…my girl with the Singlish (Singaporean English). She brings life and color to her roles.

My second best is Sandra Okunzuwa. I loved her simplicity as Chioma. My third best is Teniola Aladese as Ayomikun, who brought her charm as always. Love her persona so much - so relaxing and breathtaking! Her giggles can make an angry man happy

Loved how this movie highlighted both the positive and negative impacts social media currently has in today’s modern society in the pursuit of justice. This was seen where Nnamdi almost lost his job following a public outburst, which happened in seconds. The positive aspect is seen in Gozie’s action.

There are sprinkles of comedy in this movie hence it’s safe to tag this as a dramedy. The character of Gozie, played by Mike Ezuruonye, made this possible. Also, I loved how they spoke the Yoruba and Igbo dialects here. Although Yoruba was used more with subtitles, of course, it is largely due to the movie being set in Lagos State. So that’s absolutely understandable.

Now to the parts that seemingly didn’t work out well…

Firstly, we’re made to understand that Onise Ojo is Nnamdi’s benefactor. Why then did Ekun, who was working for Onise Ojo, need to lure Gozie in order to entrap and blackmail Nnamdi? Cause later on, it was more of the favor Onise Ojo did for Nnamdi that was used as a tool to force him to go against his own will.

Secondly, when Ekun and his men came to raid Nnamdi’s house in Gozie’s absence, the way Uzor Arukwe told Gozie about Ekun’s boys escapades, it was a little underwhelming. It did not match the critical situation at hand, but Mike Ezuruonye saved the day as he did express it sufficiently. I guess Uzor was distracted (possibly in the movie or in real life) due to fatigue.

Thirdly, Lilian Afegbai, as Yetunde, did not pull in her full weight in this movie, in my opinion. There was a part where her reaction went overboard - what we would refer to as “overacting!”

Fourthly, while the entire duration of the movie is encouraging, some scenes last for too long, especially the scene where the character of Onise Ojo was first introduced. More screen time should have been given to the back story of the three siblings. A little five or ten minutes extra time would have done justice.

Fifthly, how on earth did Gozie manage to film the bad guys and transmit live when all we saw was an earpiece, or did they borrow Ololade’s ‘Soro Ai?’

Overall, this movie, in spite of the flaws pointed out, is super interesting. It is engaging, relatable, entertaining, relaxing, and inspiring. “Family Gbese” will make you laugh, smile, giggle, or maybe frown and be like,'Ah ah!' at some point and be like 'phew' at some others! It’s absolutely worth the watch! Kudos to the cast and crew.
I would rate this movie a 7/10.