Picture Perfect

From the moment that I saw the trailer for Picture Perfect, I was impressed. It was not because of any visuals or quality attributes that it held but it was for one sole reason – Bolanle Ninalowo as Jobe.

In Picture Perfect, our Americanah lover boy redefines himself and proves to us that he is capable of much more than just “muzzles” and “accent”. The story is about a stylist who finds herself in a precarious situation one night, when on her way to deliver wares to a customer her car breaks down in an unsafe area of town. Some area boys try to hustle her and Jobe comes to the rescue and after this their paths continue to cross.

You think you know how this story is going to end – that’s because you have seen too many Royal Arts Academy movies and Emem Isong stories. But this is Biodun Stephen writing, and as I have said before when it comes to this lady expect the unexpected. The storyline that actually unfolds in the end is not so alternate that it is shocking, instead the appeal is in that it is real and different from what you would initially expect.

But as far as appeals go, nothing is a bigger reason to watch this movie than Jobe. I wanted to say “Bolanle Ninalowo” as Jobe, but the reality is that Jobe is a great character regardless of who plays him – and of course we are only able to realize this because Bolanle gave the character such life. Jobe is different, Jobe is raw, Jobe is crass, but Jobe is real and Jobe has heart. The character brings a lot of laughs into the movie and is arguably the fabric of this film. You might forget the movie in months to come but this is a character that will stick with you.

The movie has three major cast members and each of them deliver exquisitely but the movie is not all pluses. Our biggest minus would have to be the subtitling. At first, the pace matches but as the movie moves along there are many moments that made me want to gnaw at my fingernails because I do not understand Yoruba and there were incomplete subtitles.

Altogether though, the cast and crew create a memorable experience and that’s the biggest part of this movie. It’s not that the storyline is that moving but the experience of watching the movie is truly entertaining.