Have you ever watched a movie that had you satisfied and smiling at the end' A 2hours long movie to be precise that had you feeling high and happy just because you it was worth the long time spent on it'Well that was how i felt when I watched The Visit during the week, oh my, awesome movie!The Visit is a 2015 Nigerian romantic comedy thriller film directed by Olufunke Fayoyin and produced by Biodun Stephens. The film, which is a four cast movie, stars an ensemble of Nse Ikpe Etim, Femi Jacobs, Blossom Chukwujekwu and Bayray McNwizu.The film focuses on the life of two couples with different lifestyles living in the same apartment block and how they handle conflict when their parallel lifestyles at a point colluded.Whereas Eugenia (Bhaira McWizu) and Chidi (Femi Jacobs) are prim and proper, their neighbours with whom they share a building, Ajiri (Nse Ikpe-Etim) and Lanre (Blossom Chukwujekwu) are carefree and rough. An incident prompts the latter couple to visit the former and the masks of nobility, respectability and affectation, which envelop these couples, come off totally.Chukwujekwu wears the character of Lanre Shagaya (Lord Shagwell) like a prized birthday garment in what is arguably his most brilliant performance yet; his looks are well-crafted for this role. In this film, he is almost completely unrecognizable as an igbo-smoking-sex-loving 'Jide' to Nse's 'Ajiri'. Femi Jacobs is competent as the slimy Chidi while his wife, Eugenia cannot be beaten by anyone, real or imagined, in the 'faking' game. McWizu's performance is at par with her portrayal of Cindy in her Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO)-winning movie, Cindy's Notes. Of course, Ikpe-Etim does not disappoint.The movie wasdirected byFunke Fayoyin and produced by Biodun Stephen.The screenwriters are acknowledged for creating expectations and taking the story to a different direction, each time. For instance, when Lanre calls Ajiri a bitch and she responds by asking him, 'Is it is not losers that marry bitches', one thought domestic abuse will follow, but the story goes another way. In fact, whenever Lanre steps up to his wife in anger, it appears a showdown is underway. The deployment of witty dialogue and innumerable subtexts do not go unnoticed. Even the sexual innuendo in the name Shagaya ' Shagwell ' is apt.It was funny, engaging, entertaining and more!The lightning, musical background, cast, acting were all on point....the chemistry between the casts was perfect too!The Visit,kept me glued to my seat for more than two hours and the best part is that it is just a four-man cast. These four talented actors held us spellbound from the beginning of the film till the very end and had us shrieking with laughter and shouting for more. The fact that it was set in one location did nothing to deter us. Rather, like an onion, the characters of the couples were peeled away, revealing the layers of pretense they had been putting up for each other, after so many years of marriage. Another name for the film should be 'Who Did I Really Get Married To'' The Visit's shortcoming is that it is built on, at least, two faulty premises. One, the contact between the two couples is triggered by the unruly behaviour of the Shagayas, which becomes intolerable when the glass window is shattered. Two, Ajiri and Eugenia are said to have grown up in Warri and Sapele (two neighbouring towns in Delta State) respectively.For the former, an upwardly mobile couple like Eugenia (a popular, full-time blogger) and Chidi, an IT Professional who consults for Google, would have thinned out the smell of marijuana plus the noise from their neighbours by constantly turning on their air conditioners, which are seen one of the days Ajiri and Lanre run round the house. Yet, there could have been explanations as to why their windows are open. 'The Visit' is a four cast movie and it is the story of two couples living together They live in Nigeria where electricity is still a luxury. It could have been that their generator is faulty and the regular repairer has not come to fix it. Eugenia's condescending attitude is enough to keep the generator repairer away for days; then maybe the couple do not like too many hands touching their machines and appliances. Additionally, since everything is on schedule for Eugenia, maybe the windows have to be open every Saturday to let in fresh air, but locked on other days.On the second faulty premise, the Warri variant of the Pidgin English is unmistakable, contradicting Ajiri's claim that she was raised in Warri and lived there for 18 years. Above all, she could not pronounce her name appropriately, the Warri way. The fact that Ajiri is from Warri should have come from her accent, she did not have to say so herself because dialogue could also show action in film. However, the director fails to execute this properly. Even when Eugenia speaks Pidgin English, the 'Waffi' accent is not very discern-able. Eugenia could not even properly pronounce Sapele the second time. Still, the producers could have made two ladies come from any part of the country.In all, this movie is pure awesome! You can watch the trailer (HERE) and watch the full movie on IROKO TV.
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