The Perfect Picture – 10 Years Later

It has been ten years since your faves were together on screen for the original “The Perfect Picture” (not to be confused with the 2017 iROKO TV film “Picture Perfect“). And Shirley knew you were missing them so they’ve come back again for some more drama. Plus, if you missed the original drama, don’t worry, you can still enjoy this without it.

The Perfect Picture Ten Years Later (TPPTYL) picks up with our three friends – Dede, Aseye and Akasi – ten years after we last saw them. It starts off with a beautiful flashback montage laced into the visuals of Akasi and Fella’s ten year wedding anniversary party. And from there the film delivers all the visuals. The entire 150 minute debacle is a stunning portrait to watch move across your screen. There are many scenes jostling for favorites, but a top contender has to be the shot of Sam’s home (RMD’s character) with Beverly by the pool.

Following the anniversary party, we follow our middle aged loved birds home – all three of them, and as is expected, we realize that all is not as great as it seems. Akasi and Fella (Naa and Adjetey) have been trying to procreate since we last saw them and Akasi is just about sick of being ‘poked and prodded’… with needles and other things. Aseye and Larry (Jackie and Chris) have since begun work on starting their own football team and Larry is getting quite scared. He reveals his fears by sneaking into bed at night and trying desperately to avoid intercourse with his wife – oh how the tides have turned since part one.

Then there is the ever dynamic Dede (Lydia Forson). Dede seems to be lovestruck with her new boo Sam, but all is not as great as it appears in the bedroom department. To add to that, she has new legal troubles with a former boy-toy/toy-boy of hers and his mother. That’s the beauty of Sparrow Production films – they go there with the conversations and hold nothing back. The scenes between the ladies genuinely feels like being a fly on the wall at the brunch date of three intimate friends.

While TPPTYL is fun to watch for many reasons, it’s still a long drawn out process. Though all the stories are engaging enough, after the initial introduction there’s a lull and a drag and a strong temptation to leave the movie behind and come back to it at a later time. There’s only so much of watching three to six individuals constantly make bad decisions only to escape unscathed that you can watch before it looses its zest. Scattered in between though, there are many moments of either Chris strip teasing his wife, or of real-estate porn thrown at you to hold your interest momentarily. None of that changes the fact that this one is a bit of a drag to watch.

A drag it may be but a fun drag nonetheless. One curious thing here is the pairing of Lydia and RMD. It’s hard to say if it was a lack of chemistry that caused it but the intimate scenes between them could be likened to watching your father and your aunt copulate – it’s hard to watch.

In the end, past the visuals, the glitz, the glam, and the awe, the best part of watching TPPTYL is the nostalgia. The nostalgia of an era gone in nollywood/ghallywood where these kind of movies with many of these exact cast members dominated our hearts.