"Memories With You", a Repeat of Nollywood's Usual

By Olumide Labulo

As a critical mind, I'm beginning to think of joining other like minds in saying romance in Nigerian movies don't always cut it. I'm not oblivious of the fact that there are few exceptional ones to be frank but many of the ones we see are repeated versions of over-flogged themes. I know someone who can accurately predict the middle and end of most Nollywood stories after the first three or four scenes. This is really bad. Walahi, it is tiring!

Is it possible that we know the root cause of this trend? Could it be lack of creative mojo or just sheer mental inertial? Besides, are these stories always critically reviewed before production to see many of the blindspots that mar creativity? I doubt if I can rest my case here not even after I came across "Memories With You" on Omoni Oboli's channel and I was like if it's Omoni-related, it has to be good. Was it? 

The movie stars Debbie Felix, Michael Dappa, Diva Gold, Omotunde Adebowale-David, Iyke Michael, Kiladese Gbemisola and a handful of others. To be frank, I do not have issues with the actors; not one performance went off the mark. However, an actor is as good as the script he is given. So, my grouse is about the writer (Mfon-Abasi Michael Nyang) and the directors (Akay Mason and Mo Fakorede).

From the beginning like this gbam, we see two young acquaintances (a male and a female) who seem to be enjoying each other's company chit-chatting in a bar. You sabi how the story go end na, love must enter anyhow and truth is, that's exactly what happened. Very straightforward. No twists, no turns. To rub salt into injury, they bring into the progression this overwhelmingly annoying rich guy-poor girl theme. Of course you can guess. The rest is we want you, we don't want you thing between Chika's family and Bola with a bit of Chika's memory loss that sustains the drama and Tega's masterful comi relief.

By the way, I no spoil una work oh, I don't even like it but the wide gap between reality and una story is too much so tey at different junctures, one can't stop saying "na lie." The story isn't entirely bad for anyone who just wants to be entertained without recourse to what is right or wrong. But as for me, the memories aren't memories. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzmHjHiFX5A