Introducing the Kujus

Who doesn’t love a good reunion movie? It embodies everything you want in a feel good film. There’s family, there’s just enough conflict, there’s a guarantee of a happy ending, and depending on who’s making it there might a dash of romance in there. It’s basically a hallmark movie.

Introducing the Kujus (ITK) is a story of five siblings who have grown apart over the years after loosing their mother. It’s the fifth anniversary of her death, and one of the sisters (Bisola Aiyeola) is eager to have everyone home in Badagry for this memorial. Her eagerness prompts her to resort to lies to get some of her siblings home. It works but when they are all together, the unavoidable volcano erupts.

ITK is a sweet story as you would expect. It’s everything mentioned in the first paragraph so it really endears the audience to it. The writer does a good job of adding little tidbits that all come back together in the end like the characters of Otunba (Chris Iheauwa) and Mausi (Bisola Aiyeola) – it’s very Hallmark-esque. And if you have ever watched a hallmark movie you know the usual pitfalls of those films. ITK falls prey to many of them like the oversimplified conflicts, the quick and convenient resolutions and the inevitable predictability of it all. However, anyone who chooses to and continues to watch this is definitely not watching it for originality. So for all the things that viewer seeks, ITK provides.

The film has an ensemble cast and all cast members come together beautifully here. Most of the pivotal moments of the film are just roundtable dialogues but no one character/actor ever overpowers so much that the intensity and pull of the moment is lost. From Femi to Bisola to Ronke and everyone else, these actors balance the intensity while infusing effortless comedy in critical scenes seamlessly. It makes you wonder why anyone thought the comic relief driver was even necessary at all.

ITK is simple and sweet. The production holds it up for what it is supposed to be. Some scenes don’t always have the desired effect (for example the threat scene in the church and the baby conversation) so it just becomes “good enough” in those moments. Regardless, it’s still a “good enough” movie to make an entertaining watch.