My Wife & I

My Wife & I tells the story of a couple experiencing marital problems heading towards a divorce who on their parent’s request meet a pastor for counselling and well, Freaky Friday. Even before the movie began I had expectations; not only because it reunited two Nollywood heavyweights in Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli or because of the huge PR push the movie got before release but mostly because I am firm believer that even an over flogged idea (Switch, Freaky Friday, The Change-Up etc.) can be good if done right. Also, I was curious to see how a Nigerian Freaky Friday could be anything other than a movie chronicling a series of visits to pastors for deliverance from an evil spell (Spoiler: Ingeniously in this movie, the body swap was apparently ordained by God).

Couple of disclaimers a) for the rare novice to body swap movies, do not expect any ounce of logic with either behaviour/plot development/decision making and you’ll be fine b) I might as well be the founder and sole member of a secret society for the support of Nigerian light-skinned quintessential leading man Ramsey Nouah aka the Nigerian Clooney (#Nouaphiles) so expect open bias and little objectivity.

This movie directed by Bunmi Ajakaiye wins on several counts; beautiful production, excellent casting (just so you get the picture even the supporting cast were bonafide stars) and excels on virtually all technical grounds but somehow even despite the body switch fails to completely thrill. This is because for a movie squarely within the rom-com sub-genre about two people forced to juggle the day-to-day struggles of each other’s’ lives while searching for a solution to their problem, this movie doesn’t really exploit the genre but rather settles for some cheap laughs.

With such a great leading cast (Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli), most people hope for two great performances by two leads which perfectly complement one another but honestly I was itching to see whose performance had the edge in terms of quality even though it was never going to be an exhibition of their acting prowess. In the pre-swap half of the movie Oboni definitely has the edge as she was intensely convincing in her role as the bitchy wife but post-swap, like a light skinned Phoenix rising from the ashes, Ramsey Noah emerged. However, they both gave far from perfect or even nuanced performances.

This is partially because of the movies premise but also a disappointing screenplay by Chinaza Onuzo (even for a body-swap film, one too many sex themed and man cat-walking jokes) and its odd rushed quality (a distorted flow in the switching scenes) that sometimes made it seem like a series of montages. Seyi Law as the pastor simultaneously gives perhaps the funniest and the most awkward performance in the movie and although Jemima Osunde’s teenage angst/ Dorcas Sola-Fapson sage advisor routines were convincing, somehow even with a body switch its characters felt one dimensional. Indisputably though, the MVP of the movie is Aunty Ayo (the fish buyer) who delivers the funniest line in the movie with every outfit worn by Omoni Oboli coming in a close second.

Ultimately a movie like this one is about escapism and by its second scene you will most likely be laughing. Whether laughter will sustain for the rest of the movie I cannot guarantee.

Nollywood takes on Freaky Friday, in this Inkblot & Agency 106 production.

My Wife And I is a comedy headlined by Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli, which is about love, marriage and everything in between, features more stars like Jemima Osunde, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Sambasa Nzeribe, Seyi Law, Bolanle Ninalowo, Abimbola Craig and more.