Moms At War

Moms at War is a cute little story of female bromance between two mothers who also happen to live right next to each other.

On the one hand we have Ebube (played by Omoni Oboli), a snobby and elitist mother who likes to display how ‘different’ she is from others – especially her neighbor Olaide. Olaide (played by Funke Akindele) is the other mother next door – a single mother with an awareness of the ‘streets’. Both mothers butt heads when their children, Amara and Bayo respectively, are the last contenders for a solo spot in a world renowned summer program abroad.

To be honest, there’s a lot of far fetched angles to this story that are difficult not to notice. However they are also easy to ignore as you allow yourself to be distracted by the budding bromance on screen. Everything from the premise of the school itself, its funding and de-funding, the politics of the “World Scholar Program”, and finally the haphazardly thrown together love affair of the children, are all worthy of raised eyebrows. But it’s comedy and in Nigerian comedy we don’t bother with silly things like plot holes, or making situations believable for the environment in which they are set. The most jarring example of the situation versus environment problem was watching Bayo and Amara awkwardly attempt to come together on the couch. It seemed like a scene ripped off of Disney channel – it was barely believable there and it’s definitely not believable in this West African city.

Having said that, none of these take away from the joy of the movie. In her usual style, Omoni Oboli pulls you into a world of opulence with characters that you love not just because you wish you were them but also because of their humor. The pairing of Omoni and Funke in this film is sweet to watch. It’s a bromance you inherently want to root for like betting on the underdog. The casting of Funke Akindele hear is quite the feather to the cap. She doesn’t just bring in a new audience, she holds down the movie. Whether she is speaking Jenifa-English or the Queen’s English, the manner in which she depicts her characters makes the audience feel invested. The second most noteworthy actor here is Abayomi Alvin who plays Bayo. You might remember him from MTV’s Shuga but in this movie you can tell his strength as an actor by how fluidly he fits into the role of Bayo.

Moms at War succeeds at pulling in many of our favorite parts of nollywood into one – there’s the raw humor of Funke Akindele on one side, there’s the tried and tested Asaba fever with Yul Edochie on the other side and then there’s that appeal to the nollywood of yore with Eucharia. And just so the kids won’t feel left behind, there’s the kids – Bayo and Amara. Even though the chemistry between these two could use some work, their scenes together (especially the one quoted below) will leave a smile on your face.

Amara: “Why you gotta be a hay-rer tho?”

Bayo: “This your American accent eh, e horrible tho”

Don’t let the title mislead you though, this isn’t a feisty film about class wars between two mothers. This is a sweet film about the budding romance between two mothers. It’s not without its flaws, but the overwhelming gush of “aww” it produces supersedes most of that.