Home and Away tells the story of a lady (Bimbo Ademoye) whom her family disowned because she chose to get married to a man they disapproved of. When her millionaire father died, a letter he sent to her before his demise revealed that she had a share in his will. The drama and comedy that made up the movie began there.
Directed by Stanfame Ajalaja and produced by Chisa Akani Ignatius, Home and Away stars Broda Shaggi, Sabinus, IK Ogbonna, Sophia Alakija, Gregory Ojefua, etc.
This movie follows the old and played-out Nollywood narrative that someone in abject poverty will suddenly acquire wealth without lifting a finger. This kind of narrative dumbs people down. In its case, the lead character married a poor guy and lived in squalor with him and his siblings. All of a sudden, her father’s will transformed their lives.
The movie has twists. While you think it is going in one direction, it suddenly springs up surprises. One such scene was when Sabinus was robbed by some thugs after he was lured into a room by a strange girl whom he thought fell for his wacky pick-up lines. Another scene was when the family’s rickety car went missing after they all went on a wild goose chase.
The missing car scene and the scene where Idris (Broda Shaggi) was introduced made me laugh a bit. Aside from those scenes, nothing else could make me laugh. The parts meant for Sabinus to stand out looked very familiar because they were mostly old Nigerian jokes put into acting. This again adds to the reasons why I expect to laugh less when I come across Instagram skit-makers in movies. Broda Shaggi and Sabinus, who acquired a huge portion of the movie’s poster, are known to be superb skit-makers. Their three-minute skits on social media can make you laugh to stupor. However, can skit makers come with the same weight when starring in a movie that lasts up to two hours?
Concerning cinematography, such should not be expected from Home and Away. It is what you call a low-budget movie. The worst part is that it wasn’t armed with a good story. For God’s sake, what girl from a rich home falls in love with an overweight, unattractive man who lives in squalor and has nothing inspiring about him? That only happens in Nollywood. Well, the movie’s cinematography is just five steps away from what is obtainable with Asaba Nollywood, a branch of the Nigerian movie industry still stuck in the 90s. It saddens me that this movie is in the cinema when it should have just been on streaming platforms, which are fast becoming dumping grounds.
Nigerian movie directors need to start working with color pallets when creating films. This assists colorists when color-grading their movies. Home and Away lacks color pallet and has poor color grading. The few night scenes lacked cinematic lighting, which reminded me of Asaba Nollywood. However, a good story would have covered all of that.
The best actor was Enorense Victory, popularly known as Kiriku, who knew the right facial expressions to go along with his role. Did the other actors do well? Well, it is not a serious movie, so much can’t be expected from them. This movie gets a 4/10 because of the absence of a strong story. It is also not recommendable.
