Movie Title: Glamour Girls
Cast: Nse Ikpe Etim, Toke Makinwa, Sharon Ooja, Segilola Ogidan, Femi Branch, Ejike Asiegbu, Taymesan Emmanuel, Uzor Arukwe, Joselyn Dumas, Jammal Ibrahim, Chukie “Lynxx” Edozien, Gloria Anozie.
Director: Bunmi Ajakaiye
Producer: Charles Okpaleke and Abimbola Craig
Writer: Kemi Adesoye
Glamour Girls ‘tries’ to follow the story of five ladies: Donna (Nse Ikpe-Etim), Louise (Toke Makinwa), Hel (Segilola Ogidan), Jemma (Joselyn Dumas) and Emmanuella (Sharon Ooja).
Donna runs an escort agency camouflaged as an interior decoration company. She is married to Kenneth (Jammal Ibrahim) and has Louise and Hel as part of the ladies working in her escort business.
Louise is married with two children and her husband, Aaron, (Uzor Arukwe) lived overseas. She runs a fashion store though her main source of income was the escort service she provides.
Helion (Hel) is a drug addict from a rich home whose motivation for being in the escort business was not linked to money. At least that is what she repeatedly tells us.
Jemma used to be on the fast lane as one of the ladies in Donna’s agency. She however left the escort business, got married and has a 12-year-old son. Her husband is however suffering from some undisclosed ailment and is in coma/life support as a result of that. Needing cash for his treatment, Jemma is tempted to go back to Donna for help and eventually the escort business.
Emmanuella is a stipper whose luck ran out one day when she was framed for theft by Zeribe (James Gardiner). Desperate to earn a living so she can take care of her three siblings, Emmanuella approaches Donna for work and is selected after some back and forth.
Five ladies whose stories looked interesting enough at first glance but which failed to fulfil potential due to a weak storyline, horrible character development and poor continuity.
A few examples.
- Chief Nkem (Ejike Asiegbu) was a long-time client of Donna’s. He tells her about a big party he wanted to host and requests that Donna gets him the best ladies for the event. While discussing, Jemma calls Donna, a call she ignores but which Nkem sees. This prompted a walk down memory lane with Nkem recalling some good times he had with Jemma. Few scenes later, Donna and Jemma get together and Donna offers to help Jemma with cash for her husband’s treatment as long as she attends the party being thrown by Chief Nkem. Thinking the reason was for Nkem and Jemma to reconnect, that was not the case though as Jemma went with Alexander (Chukie Edozien) instead.
- As if that was not enough, the party that was supposed to be the party of all parties did not have much going for it except for some averagely dressed ladies and the big men all wearing agbada leading the ladies to hotel rooms one after the other.
- It was not sure why Donna was constantly humiliating Kenneth and what the whole Kenneth-Donna angle was supposed to show us. That Donna was married? Or that Kenneth was an emasculated man? And it was interesting to see he faded off after just two scenes.
- Why would Sheggy’s (Femi Branch), Emma’s sugar daddy, daughter decide to harass Emma at her bank manager job? Was her mother still in the picture? Or was the scene included just for the sake of it?
- Talking about characters whose role were not clear, Helion seemed to be an add-on the writer/director did not exactly know what to do with. One minute she was supposed to be a bad girl, the next she was announcing a three-month pregnancy, then she’s having a drug withdrawal episode and next thing she’s dead!
Glamour Girls had so many things going on with no apparent direction. The few redeeming points were Nse and Taymesan’s acting. That aside, the movie is a terrible retelling/remake of the 1994 two-part blockbuster with the same title. Even the attempt to include old cast members of the 1994 Glamour Girls was poorly executed.
Being a Netflix Original, the movie definitely did not lack for money as the boat trips, Lebanon visit and few flashy clothes testify. But having access to money is not enough to save a weak movie. Charles Okpaleke and Play Network Studios could have done well without marring the memories of those who still remember the original Glamour Girls.
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