Sunday 26 July 2015

Mum, Dad Meet Sam


Director- Tony Sebastian Ukpo 
Producers- Susan Biodun Ogidan 
Writer- Segilola Ogidan 
Cast- Joseph Benjamin, Daniella Down, A Dot Comedian, Helen Gold and Edith Nwekenta
Time- 1hr +
Year- 2015 


  
All I did was tell her to chop onions, this oyibo na wa... Mama Abiola

The movie unveils Josiah Abiola (Joseph Benjamin) who is at the peak of his career, the only thing left for him is to find the perfect girl to settle down with, and Samantha Smith (Daniella Down) is stunning, intelligent, and pretty much fits the picture.


Both met and fall in love and might just be perfect for each other. He decides to take her home to meet his family in Nigeria. What is meant to be a special occasion turns out to be their worst nightmare, with a devious ex-girlfriend Morenike (Edith Nwekenta), an over protective, overdramatic mother (Helen Gold), and the fact that Sam is…  ENGLISH (white), then you have a recipe for an explosive and disastrous encounter ripe with awkwardness and hilarity.


From the stables of Film One Production comes yet another Romantic Comedy; “Mum, Dad Meet Sam” also known as MDMS. From the synopsis above, it kind of says it all. Having either a white boyfriend or girlfriend is one thing, bringing them home to meet your Nigerian folks is another and this production tries to capitalize on that.  

Joseph as the main character knew his lines and delivered to them. He was confident and handle his role well, however, he seemed to lose his tongue when he returned to Nigeria with his girlfriend. If the aim was to get us angry that as a grown man he couldn’t stand his ground and talk to his mum, it worked hands down that I was somewhat letdown at those scenes.

Samantha, played by Daniella Down was pretty fresh and decisive. I loved her humor which didn’t feel overly done (probably because the accent is hers). She portrayed the lonely single look to please her mother-in-law well and this didn’t seem or look different from what a black woman will do. I did feel however that her style, both hair and clothes looked grand-ma ish and nothing a young British girl her age will be caught dead in.

Josiah’s overzealous cousin Fola played by A dot Comedian was a character I felt the movie could do without. He didn’t bring anything to the production neither did he leave us with anything that left me gasping or wowing on his role.

Samantha also had cool friends (names elude me), Nigerian for that matter, who brought a humph to the movie. With quick pick up lines and cheeky sounds, the two characters are every girl’s nightmares as well as dreams and they were loads of fun.

Production quality was top notch, with sound and visual going hand in hand. I liked the retro style that came with the production, I believe it’s a camera style and till I find out what it is, I was cool and different. I must hand it to Film One the second movie in their line up that is top notch and I do hope they keep this up, putting quality always above anything else in their movies is what movie lovers long for in our Nigerian movies. Editing felt pretty close during some scenes, as one could notice the sudden change, but they were excusable. As it relates to the script and directing, coming from total unknowns in the industry was welcome. Like I always say, nothing is new under the sun and so the plot wasn’t totally new (if you consider Osofia in London and its sequel), however MDMS had a civil character delivery and a fresh perceptive on getting hitched or hooked to a white person the Nigerian way. Closing the loop seemed to be an issue that is rearing its head in our movies as the scenes drawing up to the end of the movie seemed to drag and felt totally unnecessary.

“Mum, Dad Meet Sam” was fun to watch and put together nicely. It delivered to cheeky lines and usual drama and earns 5/10 from Xplore.

Have you seen MDMS? Tell me what you think in the comments section. 






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