“Meeting Funmi’s Parents” is a romantic comedy produced and written by Kevin Apaa, executive produced by Michael Ademola Oke with Suleiman Bolaji as the co-producer and Akanni Folashayo Ayobami as the Associate Producer.
The movie was released in cinemas on the 26th of January, and we were there to see it because we love to give you a review.
When we saw the movie trailer, we expected all shades of romance that would lead to wedding bells because official lover boy Timini is one of the main cast and ‘bride’ Omowumi is another main cast.
We went in with these expectations, but nothing prepared us for the rollercoaster ride we encountered while watching the movie.
As the movie end credit rolled, we did not know whether to choose joy, disappointment, or indifference, but we did have our hearty fill of laughter as the movie was hilarious, especially the part where Jason said “ikaruuuu” instead of “ekaaro” or his pronunciation of gbegiri.
The movie features an ensemble cast that includes Tiago Ishola, Sophia Chisom aka Soso as Nwaekaego, Roman Thomson as Jason Walker, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett as Grandma, Abayomi Alvin as Damian, Sophie Alakija as Toyin, Femi Durojaiye as Doctor, Timini Egbuson as Ayo, Ifeanyi Emmanuel Ikubese as Jimoh, Omowumi Dada as Funmi, Rotimi Adelagan, Akin Lewis as Kunle, Samuel Perry aka Broda Shaggy as Musilu, Tina Mba as Toyin among others. There were also cameo appearances from Femi Durojaiye, Saka Hafiz Oyetoro, and Tiago Gom.
Set in Nigeria and the United States, the movie follows the story of Funmi, played by Omowumi Dada, who gets engaged to her American boyfriend Jason, played by Roman Thomsom; she decides to take her fiancee to Nigeria to meet her parents, but the meeting meets some glitches as her father insists that she marry a Yoruba man who knows their traditional culture and values.
On the other hand, there comes Ayo, played by Timini Egbuson, who is Funmi’s promiscuous ex who wants her back. Will Funmi get her way and marry her Oyibo fiancee? Will Funmi’s father get his way and halt the wedding between Funmi and Jason? Will Ayo come back into the picture? You will have to go to the cinema to find out for yourself.
Meanwhile, we must say that the characters performed exceptionally well, but two characters that stand out to us in the movie are Funmi’s parents, played by Tina Mba and Akin Lewis.
They are very comical, especially Tina Mba; who made the movie hilarious. We don’t know which scenes are funnier: their bedroom banter or the ones during the day in front of Funmi and Jason. Saka, Broda Shaggi, and Soso also played their part in making the movie funny.
The movie’s storyline is great, a bit slow at first, then we get hit with a twist we didn’t see coming. After that, we are thrown into a rollercoaster of scenarios happening so fast. It seemed the movie picked up after the first twist and was trying to finish fast.
We think that the second twist towards the end of the movie is unnecessary, but then it seems the producer had to look for a story to tie the second part of the movie to. Spoilers there! *oops.
“Meeting Funmi’s Parents” depicts a thematic preoccupation that resonates with will resonate with different viewers as it pushes a strong message about cultural clashes, familial love and respect, physical/psychological abuse, and forgiveness among others. Let’s explore how these come to play in the movie:
The movie portrays the tribal or cultural clash that sometimes comes with the announcement of a wedding, how parents would sometimes reject the intended spouses of their children just because they do not share the same cultural values or even tribe. This is portrayed in how Funmi’s father blatantly rejects Jason and has Ayo as the preferred choice just because he is of Yoruba descent and seems well-to-do.
Also, the movie passes a strong message about physical abuse. It depicts how people suffer silently in abusive relationships and are manipulated every single time into thinking that the other person will be better and will change but then fall deeper into the dark grasp of the negatively-encompassing monster called abuse until freedom comes one way or another.
Furthermore, the movie depicts familial love as the love Funmi’s parents have for each other is beautiful, with her father affirming that if he so much as cheats on his wife, something will go wrong. Tina Mba and Akin Lewis did a great job as a couple in the movie.
The love Funmi has for her grandmother is so deep that when she finds out about her grandma’s ailment, she breaks down. Above all, the family shares and shows deep love and respect for each other.
Above all, the movie depicts forgiveness as Funmi’s mother passionately states, “No human is perfect.”
The production team shines bright with the costumes, as the characters’ outfits are nice and speak to the characters. The setting location in the movie is top-notch, not to mention the cinematography.
The portrayal of the Island in the city of Lagos from different camera angles brings charm to the movie; this beauty comes along with the setting portrayal scene, which could make one almost fall in love with Eko again.
With its beauty and attention to detail, there are a few lapses here and there, like how two of the main characters do not have enough chemistry; we are talking about Omowumi Dada and Timini Egbuson. They did great with their roles, but we did not see electrical sparks flying everywhere like they should when old flames reconnect.
In the scene where her father caught her with Jason, we can’t help but wonder about this: how was she sending him out of her room one minute amidst kisses, indicating how it would hurt her father if he caught them together like that, and the next minute, she was asleep in his arms?
The producers just wanted to make a scapegoat out of our pretty Oyibo loverboy, so badly lol.
After the scene where Funmi discovers her grandma’s ailment, everything happens so fast, and the next thing we know, there’s a wedding introduction happening.
Yeah, a wedding did happen, but then you will have to go find out who the lucky guy is yourself. The twist just before the wedding was unnecessary, though, but we see where it intends to take us.
But then, amidst all of these, the movie is beautiful; it passes strong messages, the cinematography is great, same as the production, the setting, and most of all, the comedy.
If you are looking for a good laugh, we recommend checking out “Meeting Funmi’s Parents”
From us at Kemi Finali Media, it’s 7.5/10 for “Meeting Funmi’s Parents”
