Three Nollywood films, Sugar Rush, Your Excellency and Merry Men, are doing well at the cinemas, with each making over N100 million days after premiere. Anita Eboigbe reviews two of the movies.
Sugar Rush’ makes the audience laugh but does absolutely nothing else. For a movie with an entourage of producers and cast members, it is amazing how it does little in such a very busy way. Laughter is a tricky emotional reaction.
It blindsides one to the real issue at hand and in between bouts of euphoria, it is hard to see the truth. Jade Osiberu served laughter in healthy Instagram doses and for the duration of the film, it was hard to see the loop holes.
This did not last as immediately after the film was over, the only thing audiences remembered was that they laughed so hard. In fact, on social media where the producers have shared fan reactions, the most have been centred on laughter.
It is true that ‘Sugar Rush’ is a comedy but it is also sad that the comedic dialogues and the plot were not written as well as they should have.
Seeing as Osiberu’s previous film ‘Isoken’ was and still is a fan favourite, it was logical to expect ‘Sugar Rush’ to be better written.
The film follows the Sugar sisters (Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Bimbo Ademoye and Bisola Aiyeola) who accidently discover 800, 000 dollars in the house of a dead, corrupt man.
In the next couple of days, they spend the money in part only to meet their waterloo when some mafias come forward to claim ownership of the money.
The plot is simple and harmless but largely unintelligent in execution. First, the sisters were spending money that the anti-corruption agency was curious about, in the most lavish way without any prelude to the motivation behind their actions.
The one action that would had made sense to be done first was done last. Second, the actors were not acting.
Adesua was Adesua, Bimbo was Bimbo and Bisola was exactly the same as we had known her since her reality television days. Tobi Bakre tried so hard but still fell flat.
Third, ‘Sugar Rush’ sacrificed crucial social engineering moments at the altar of laughter. It was unwise to have federal anti-corruption agents abduct the Sugar sisters for illegal interrogation given the present situation in the country.
The producers had the chance to present the agency as heroic but they chose to make it idiotic.
On the flip side, some elements worked, especially some special effects and some acting from supporting characters. The star of ‘Sugar Rush’ is media personality and now actress, Toke Makinwa.
It was easy to see how much work she put into the role and the potential she would have if she works with a great director.
While the box office numbers have shown that ‘Sugar Rush’ worked for the market, it does not soften the damage already done.
Read Also: Sanwo-Olu, others grace Your Excellency premiere
Thanks to the holiday season and a Christmas Day premiere date, it has made well over a hundred million naira. Still, the movie would have done loads better if the editing was great enough to save what was left of the writing.
Merry Men
‘Merry Men 2’ is an enjoyable film that satisfies the audience in ways that are more psychological than technical. It is solid proof that comedian and producer, Ayo ‘AY’ Makun listens to the audience.
As a budding franchise, it is impossible to talk about the movie without reference to its prequel. In fact, it is this comparison that subtly takes place in the mind of the audience that increased the climax for the film.
The premise of the ‘Merry Men’ movies is based on four young ‘Robin Hood’-inspired men who steal from the corrupt rich and give to the poor. They had a risky operation in the first film and decided to stop when two of them found love.
In ‘Merry men 2’, they discover the game continues as fresh circumstances force them to take up arms again. In one hour, fifteen minutes of action-comedy, Ayo Makun, Ramsey Nouah, Jim Iyke, Folarin ‘Falz Falana, and Williams Uchemba thoroughly entertained the audience.
The movie is far from perfect as the funny action scenes proved. Still, audiences did not mind as the other elements worked perfectly to cover that blind spot. First, the fluidity of the story and connection of scenes make the film easy to watch. This is a far cry from what was obtainable in the first film.
Second, the film had a better direction than the first. Well planned scenes with extra pictures, courtesy of the improved cinematography and overall production. Third, the locations were beautiful.
Aesthetics is important in the film and the production crew took note. In places where the audience could not follow the dialogue, they simply admired the architecture and interior of most of the locations used.
Fourth, each newly introduced character was easy to accommodate. Sometimes, when franchises add new characters, audiences struggle to fit them into the story. This was not the case with Ufuoma McDermott, Linda Osifo, Regina Daniels, Alex Asogwa and Williams Uchemba.
Lastly, AY’s acting was better than it had been in his past films, it is easy to see his growth as an actor, and especially at this point where he delivers his lines and does not reduce to employing extra gimmicks for entertainment.
It will be unfair to not acknowledge the splendid work done in what can be tagged as ‘the most memorable scene’ of the movie. Nouah’s character goes to pick a bottle of wine and turns to see a strange person sitting by his piano, playing something really melodious with confidence. He turns to take action and is attacked by a gunman.
He is distracted by the scuffle as the man is intent on killing him. The music tempo increases as the fight intensifies. It’s obvious that the piano player is having fun with this. What is also clear is that music is a powerful signal that the gunman must listen to while he fights.
Everything in this scene is great to watch. The fight, the music, the blend of the piano into the movie’s score, the interior of the house. It was beautifully written and points to an area that AY needs to pay attention to.
This is it – while ‘Merry men 2’ is an amazing movie, it would have done much better if more details were paid attention to the fight sequences and better translation of the script to screen. Good is not enough. The franchise can be great.
- Eboigbe is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
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