"Love in Every Word", Mfon Abasi Outdid Himself

By Olumide Labulo 

The other time I reviewed his (Mfon-Abasi) work, "Memories With You", I really didn't hold back at lashing out and pinpointing his obvious errors which were very much avoidable.  So two weeks ago, I stumbled on "Love in Every Word" just three days after it was published on Omoni's Youtube channel. It was the "Odogwu paranra" and other comic flicks off the movie used for promo that got me cracked up. I downloaded immediately but couldn't watch until three days ago. You go blame me?

Anyway, Mfon Abasi really did amazingly well with this story and the scriptwriter, Daniel Uzodinma, masterfully  birthed the idea like it was his. That's the power of collaboration. Let's face it, a director and all his cast are only as good as the story they are telling. It's that simple!

So the movie is a romantic story quite alright but it's a complete shift from the norm which makes it very realistic and relatable. If you have ever loved but doubted or ever been "match-made" before, then here is your story. Starrring Uzor Arukwe, Bambam (Olawunmi Adenibuyan), Osareme Igbenebor, Daniel Rocky, Thelma Nwosu and others, we are introduced to the life of a young lady (Chioma) who has a bully as a boss and a waster as a boyfriend. After a suffocating day at work, she retires home to hear the news that her $5000 forex investment is gone. There and then, she ends things with him. Few days later, she travels to Anambra to grace a family function. While there, her mother tries to hook her up but she goes to hide and surprisingly gets entangled with the same person. As Fate will have it, there is a spark between both of them which undeniably lays the foundation for the beginning of something beautiful that almost gets ruined for doubts and fear of uncertainty.

I love the way the characters are designed to carry the weight of our everyday life. While Bambam (Chioma) displays the typical but unrealistic yearnings of many girls or classy girls who have self-imposed limiting standards of what their partners must look like or be like before they love, Odogwu represents an uncommon wealthy Igbo man who doesn't fancy the stereotypical Igbo man and woman kind of relationship where the woman isn't valued or supported to blossom.

That is not to say that there are no few misses. First, why is our own currency not used in place of the dollars mentioned throughout the movie? Or we're already in the 666 era where the whole world now uses one currency? Second, Uzor (Odogwu's) character and accent really is enjoyable with heavy Igbo importation like "ochalugo" and intermittent code-mixing but he is unable to maintain it (his accent) for few minutes when Chioma tells him she doesn't like him because of it. Maybe it got real at that point. Lol. Besides, is "l" not for "r" in Anambra dialect? Third, it's the way her break-up with the waster is exaggerated. It is possible to collect whatever you've bought for a partner in anger but it is so unlikely to have him strip down to his boxers when it's just two of you without any help from people. It's so unrealistic. 

Anyways, as of now, the movie has over 10 million views. Thanks to promotions and pollinators like us. By the way, it's also a little something to spice up your weekend. Have fun.