Cast: Timini Egbuson, Tina Mba, Bimbo Ademoye, Nkechi Blessing, Mc Lively, Funnybone, Bisola Aiyeola, Bolanle Ninalowo, Lateef Adedimeji, Jide Kosoko and Lizzy Jay.
Director: Biodun Stephen
Breaded Life aimed to answer the question of what a rich kid would do if they were stripped of all they have and are familiar with. Sumisola Smart-Cole (Timini Egbuson) was a spoilt rich kid whose mother was exasperated with his irresponsible lifestyle. All he wanted to do was party and live the good life while being bankrolled by his mother (Tina Mba). Not until he wakes up one day and no one recognises him, not even his mother, except for Todowede, a bread hawker (Bimbo Ademoye).
Hits:
Story – While Breaded Life is like other spoilt rich kid who later became good stories, the movie introduces a not-so-used theme: coma-induced dreams, to get its message across. What happens for the most part of the film was more of a vision of what is to come, but it didn’t stop the movie from being brilliant. The portrayal of street life was also very accurate and real. It is obvious that the writer/director understood what life on the street is like and they could translate it from theory to reality.
Casting – Breaded Life boasts of a mix of old and young Nollywood stars who were just perfect for the roles they had to play. Casting Bolanle Ninalowo as Jobe, same name and persona he had in Picture Perfect, was a nice touch.
Acting – Watching Bimbo Ademoye act as Todowede, one would think she was truly an illiterate Egun-speaking bread seller. But that is what happens when an actor embodies a role so well. Timini is not left out with his consummate switching from ajebutter (rich kid) to ajepako (poor kid) in the blink of an eye. One minute he was driving flashy cars and getting his mom worked up, the next, he was doing menial head porterage jobs and working in a bakery. These two (Timini and Bimbo) gave life to Breaded Life. Bisola Aiyeola, MC Lively, Lateef Adedimeji and Bolanle Ninalowo also provided some comic relief.
Cinematography – Top notch. The picture quality is good. The sound quality is perfect.
Costume – All very appropriate. There was heavy use of African prints in the movie, and Tina Mba’s styles, in particular, were quite attractive. The make-up artist who handled the tiro for Bimbo Ademoye, Bolanle Ninalowo and Lateef Adedimeji no doubt understudied the touts that dot Agege and Oshodi well.
Misses:
Disjointed storytelling – There was a part of the story that was a bit disjointed. Todowede was trying to get Sumi a job with Jugunu (Lateef Adedimeji), but she first had to look for Jobe to help her speak to Jugunu. It was later revealed that she had a relationship with Jugunu and was even getting her bread from him. So, why didn’t she just go to him directly like she later did? Unless it was just to add some unnecessary characters to the story.
Overall, Breaded Life is what happens when good storytelling is combined with ace directing and stellar acting.
