Produced by Inkblot and Filmone Distribution, My Wife and I follows the story of Toyosi (Ramsey Nouah) and Ebere (Omoni Oboli), an unhappily married couple on the brink of a divorce. A final intervention comes in the way of a famous Pastor (Seyi Law) recommended by Ebere’s mum (Ngozi Nwosu). After prayers, they wake up the next day in each other’s bodies and are now forced to communicate and understand each other better. Directed by Bunmi Ajakaiye, the movie features Omoni Oboli, Ramsey Nouah, Rachel Oniga, Jemima Osunde, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Olumide Oworu, Ngozi Nwosu, Seyi Law and Sambasa Nzeribe.
Hits
Laughs. The film has some laugh out loud moments as expected with the body swap. Ramsey Nouah cat walking, Omoni Oboli struggling in heels and battling the weave on and even the couple’s kids played by Olumide Oworu and Jemima Osunde add to the comedic mix. The laughs come in from the beginning and are sustained to about the middle of the film when the film, unexpectedly takes a more serious turn veering more into drama land.
Star power. Nollywood heartthrob Ramsey Nouah pairs up with reigning cinema queen, Omoni Oboli for a reunion after their hair raising performance years ago in Kunle Afolayan’s ‘The Figurine.’ The movie boasts of an ensemble cast comprising ‘old’ and ‘new’ Nollywood with the likes of Ngozi Nwosu, Rachel Oniga, Jemima Osunde, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Olumide Oworu and Sambasa Nzeribe.
Misses
Lighting. Quite a number of the indoor and night scenes suffered from poor lighting. The pictures were dark; a common problem with low and mid-budget Nollywood films.
Pacing. The flick kicks off on a high but towards the middle loses steam and drags slowly to a predictable end. There are endless scenes with talking heads that slow down the pace of the film, making it a bore for the viewers. Between the director and the editor, less would have been more in this case.
Story. Body swap stories are common in Hollywood so one would expect something different to make a Nollywood take fresh and ‘original.’ The movie is very predictable and after the laughs from the initial shock, the story goes on for way too long exploring things that could have been inferred or totally left out. Also, given the local context of the film being set in Nigeria, a teenage child using the f-word and shouting at her parents begs believability.
Characterisation. The movie does not do enough in the beginning to properly establish the different character traits and relationship dynamics with the children. So when the body swap happens, one is not always sure who is playing which character. There are also some stereotypical portrayals. For example, Toyosi not knowing what a sanitary pad is.
Reviewed by Isabella Akinseye.