One Night Guest is a movie that brings together Nollywood and Ghallywood actors to create something that is expected to be relevant every Christmas season.
Directed by Peter Sedufia, the comedy-drama stars Akah Nnani, Anita Asuoha, Annabel Apara., Chidi Mokeme, Ini Edo, James Gardiner, Lasisi Elenu, Majid Michel, Roselyn Ngissah, and Yvonne Okoro, amongst others.
The movie tells the story of a father who tries to ensure his daughter enjoys Christmas because she is mute and restricted to a wheelchair following her mother’s demise. To achieve this aim, the father regularly hires Santa Claus and an Elf to perform at their house yearly. However, this year’s edition brought drama and thieves looking to rob his family.
This movie has its ups and downs. It is an attempt by Nollywood to create a Hollywood-type family comedy. While viewing it, I couldn’t help but feel as if I was watching a cheap imitation of American movies. One Night Guest didn’t seem original to me. It felt like a bite from the apple of the Hollywood blockbuster Home Alone.
On the good side of One Night Guest, I must commend the set design, especially the lovely painting of the interior of the house where most of the scenes were shot. The painting really blended well with the awesome costumes of Father Christmas, Mrs Santa and the Elf. Spoiler Alert: Different Father Christmas and Elves were used because they were competing for a price. The Christmas decorations also added flavour to the beautiful set.
The acting in this movie is okay, even though I think some actors who are not natural comedians starred. However, it was nice seeing Majid Michel as an Elf, a role far different from the usual loverboy he’s known for. Lasisi Elenu was awesome and he made me relax my dislike for the load of poor performances I’ve seen from his fellow skit-makers when they star in movies.
One Night Guest is not stunning visually. The colour-grading didn’t look like it left the Rec709 realm. Despite watching it on a big screen, I couldn’t see rich blacks to depict strong contrast, as the movie looked almost flat in the outdoor scenes. Concerning the soundtrack, the Christmas songs were given a local vibe, bringing some level of originality to them. I can’t help but give the lighting an average score because it worked well in some scenes and poorly in others. I think Nollywood is still finding it difficult to shoot outdoor daylight scenes. The indoor scenes are commendable.
I expect One Night Guest always to be relevant every season. It is the kind of movie families can stream together while munching chicken during the festive period. Watching this movie during Christmas will be cool. I can’t say the same if it is viewed in a different season. I think the director should have used more children in the movie to make it marketable to kids as well. One Night Guest gets a 5/10, and we recommend it regardless of the score.
