Saturday, 13 June 2015


The London premiere of Diana Child’s The Perfect Man took place at Odeon Greenwich on Friday 12th June 2015. According to the movie website, the movie is registered with British Film Institute, making it a British film, however with a Nollywood twist, the blend of British, Nigerian, Jamaican, Asian, Spanish, Romanian and Australian Actors, bringing diversity to the film in the true spirit of the British and Nigerian culture, accepting all races, cultures and ethnicities.

Notable on the red carper were Diana Childs, Joseph Benjamin, DJ Abass, PoshDee Sara, Danny Erskine, Obi Emenlonye, Ikenna Obi, Ken Smart, Yinka Awoni, cast and crew of the movie  amongst others.
Storyline:  The movie ‘The perfect Man’ is a romantic comedy about a 30 year old lady in search of a husband in London. She is torn between her head and her heart, influenced by friends and family, she makes a decision she soon regrets! Is it too late for Jane to find her perfect man and who does she choose?

I understand the basis of the storyline and that is what happens in real life especially in the African context. Once a lady gets to a certain age, her parents in particular start to remind her that she is not getting younger and that they want to carry their grandchildren, Added to this (although the more educated families seem to understand that we are in the 21st century and allow their children marry whom they want) is the fact that parents want to choose their children’s spouse. They must come from the same ethnic background, their parents and family must be known etc. In fact in some cases, they even go and investigate the family their child would marry from.

Bearing all the above in mind, contextually the idea of the perfect man as a husband is a reality. These days girls want men who have made it and do not look for potential in the man. I think as a reviewer people understood the storyline although the story dragged on for too long. As a reviewer and critic,  I keep emphasizing that stories need to be sharp and straight to the point so the audience don’t end up getting confused. I credit Diana for her attempt to try and tell this story. The storyline is not perfect but a very good attempt.

Cast: The movie which also stars the producer Diana Childs (Jane) also features UK acts Ikenna Obi (Emeka), Ashley Holland (Mark),  Ken Smart (Dad), Toni Adams, Tara Nwachukwu (Oma), Toni Adams (Venny), Laura Menendez, Joti Patel, (Anisa), Carmen Silva (Cara), Daisy Kay (Rose), Yinka Awoni (Jacob), Calin Drimbau (Sam) and Bruce Sedgwick
Let me start from two people I think played their roles so well. To me Tara Nwachukwu (Oma) was the star of the movie. She was a s natural in her role and made her role very believable. She was also funny and when she needed to be humbled she again played the character well. I see her as an upcoming Nollywood great (if that is what she chooses), but I would like to advise her not to rest on her oars and keep perfecting her act. Ken Smart although in a minor role displayed the role of a typical arrogant Nigerian father. To me that role suited him and I also give him kudos.

As a reviewer and critic, I had some concerns. Anyone can play any role and Will Smith for example can be given the role of an African chief and he would play it well down to the accent. I was concerned that Toni did not do justice to the role she was given to play. The accent was nowhere near Nigerian. Again Ikenna Obi started brilliantly as an arrogant Ibo rich man and spoke more like an illiterate, but at the end of the movie, I was seeing a more polished man speaking not the one I believe he was meant to portray. I enjoyed seeing the not too posh Ikenna and was getting used to that character till somewhere in the middle where the posh Ikenna we are used to showed up and I believe that was not the intention of the script. I believe he was meant to be arrogant,  rich but not posh.

Picture Quality: The picture quality was below average, In some cases, pictures were out of their frame and in some cases for very long spaces of time for a shot, we did not see faces. There were also scenes where the picture were shaky. I could tell watching this movie that the budget was low. For a movie that was being premiered, I expected at least a minimum level in terms of the picture quality.

Sound Quality: To me this was the most annoying part of the movie. What happened to post production? In some scenes the sound was so horrendous that we could not even hear clearly what was being said. There was a scene where the cast were meant to be in a room and I was hearing the sounds of sirens. That really annoyed me and showed lack of attention to detail. At the end of the movie when credits were given for Sound the credits were “unknown”.

Overall performance:  Overall, what can I say? While I like commending people for effort and I commend Diane, but I believe the team needs to go back to the table and re-evaluate especially for future projects. One leading stakeholder in the Nollywood industry commented and said it was sad to watch and he did not mean that in terms of the storyline but in terms of some of the issues I have raised.
The question my readers would like to know is if I would recommend this movie. In as much as I love and support the industry, I would be a hypocrite to recommend this movie in its current state. The only positive I saw was in the storyline but the sound and picture quality could send anyone to sleep.
I always write based on what I see. There is potential, but sometimes, it pays to spend and invite professionals to make a movie worth its while.
Watch the trailer:

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