Glass Slippers

If there’s one thing you can rely on about Emem Isong movies, especially the ones that don’t go to the cinema, it’s their simplicity. They are pretty cut and dry about their intentions from the go. This movie is called glass slippers… Cinderalla… poor maid, rich prince… love story… the end. Some call it predictability and lack of originality, yes. Maybe. But it’s simple.

Glass Slippers tells the story of a young casanova played by O.C. Ukeje (apparently we’re going to keep going with this story even after Alan Poza) who is solidly anti-commitments. He has a steady side-piece in the person of his coworker, played by Tana Adelana, otherwise he shoots to kill with the other females. His mother, on the other hand, is determined to get him married at all costs and she continues to link him up with the daughters of her wealthy friends. After a certain incident where he passes out alone in his home, his mother convinces him of the need to have someone live with him. Enter the maid played by Nsikan Isaac. And at this point, even the least creative person knows how the story goes.

Don’t mind the initial comments about Alan Poza because O.C as an actor has evolved massively since that film. Now when he plays a player, you actually believe him and fall for him right alongside all the other girls. O.C carries the role effortlessly and Tana Adelana matches him step for step as first, the dedicated side-piece, and later the scheming ex.

Nsikan Isaac who plays the maid has a very subdued role in the movie but she executes it in a manner where her character is memorable. The role isn’t exactly one that allows the actor to display a plethora of abilities but in the little that she has done with this character, it was believable enough.

Now as far as the actual storyline goes, even though it is very simple and clear from start to finish about its intentions, it was still disappointing. It was especially disappointing for the romantic within me. There was ample opportunity to elevate this storyline from the 1+1=2 that it became into a quadratic equation of a love story. It could have been so much more and so much more memorable than the forgettable cut and dry storyline it became.

This is not to say that the movie is not funny or that the storyline is not adorable but it could have been more.