Sodas & Popcorn – Movie Review: Lagos Cougars

Director: Desmond Eliot
Screenplay: Bola Aduwo & Emem Isong
Stars: Uche Jombo Rodriguez, Monalisa Chinda, Daniella Okeke, Alex Ekubo, Bobby Michaels, Diana Yekini, Benjamin Touitou, Shawn Faqua and Ifeanyi Kalu.

Synopsis
Lagos Cougars tells a story which centers round the lives of three fun seeking ladies in their 40s who decide to have some adventure and date younger guys. Little did they know that they were in for a ride of their lives. Uche Jombo Rodriguez plays Aret the craziest of the three women and a bank manager. Monalisa Chinda plays Elsie a single mother separated from her husband for 6 six years and bringing up her son (Shawn Faqua) alone. And lastly the sexy Daniella Okeke plays Joke a successful fashion designer who claims to be too busy with work and her fianceé to fall for a guy younger than her.

The Script
Bola Aduwo and Emem Isong who have co-written a couple of flicks in the past such as ‘A Minute to Midnite'(1997), ‘Hit & Run'(1998) and ‘For Real’  teamed up again to write the story for Lagos Cougars which is a romantic comedy full of a lot of funny moments.

But that said about the fun, Lagos Cougars is a movie filled with a lot of movie clichés, predictability and not well written dialogues with a couple of blunders. I was basically completing the sentences for some of the characters in many of the scenes. Although it can be understood that it isn’t a serious movie, basically a fun movie which should be viewed for the laughs, it could have been written better.

For the average Nollywood movie viewer though, the story wouldn’t be a problem and he/she would have a nice time seeing the events that unfold in the movie.

The Directing
Fan favorite and African Ben Affleck(Na joke O!), Desmond Elliot responsible for movies such as In The Cupboard, Weekend Getaway(read the review here) and the recently released flick Finding Mercy sits behind the camera and calls the shots for Lagos Cougars.

While I believe that Desmond Elliot is getting better as a director with each passing project, some flaws were still noticed in the sound design; Sound tracks and sound effects were good but the voices were not recorded well. There was also a particular scene in Alex Ekubo’s apartment where he is having a heated argument with Diana Yekini. Alex’s head was cut off through most of the scene which I personally feel shouldn’t be the case in a scene with a lot of emotion going on between two characters. It was too one-sided.

The bad said, the movie did have some good to its credit. The coordination of the fight scene between Benjamin Touitou and Shawn Faqua was really cool. The kiss between Monalisa and Benjamin Touitou got a pass mark and is a lot better than the chewing of lips we get from Nollywood kiss scenes. The lightning was good and  the cinematography was nice.

The Acting
Everyone put up a good acting performance but some never the less stood out. Uche Jombo as always was pretty cool in her role. Monalisa likewise did act well and was very believable. Daniella Okeke wasn’t at her best and could have put up a better performance. She felt stiff and wasn’t very believable, especially in the scene when she steps outside the club and was crying.

Alex Ekubo, I am glad to say has definitely improved as an actor. His facial expressions and relaying of the appropriate emotions at the right point to the audience which have been my capital issues with  him weren’t noticed here and he was definitely the most hilarious of the guys in the movie.

Bobby Michaels, Benjamin Touitou, Ifeanyi Kalu and Diana Yekini were decent in their roles. But most impressive of all was Sean Faqua. That was my act of the movie. Seeing him for the first time in this movie and seeing his interpretation of his role was definitely lovely. I believe he is an act which should be looked out for and I hope he doesn’t fall short.

The Verdict
Lagos Cougars is a typical ‘Nollywood Movie’ and I believe it had its target for Nollywood fans. As for me, a story is everything in a movie and if a story is predictable and cliche ridden, then its not for me. So for the Nollywood lovers, Lagos Cougars is a Popcorn and Hotdog. 

The Ratings
Traffic Popcorn-1/5
Popcorn & Water-2/5
Popcorn & Hotdog-3/5
Popcorn & Soda-4/5
Popcorn, Soda & Hotdog-5/5

For other newly released movie reviews such as Hunger Games 2, please visit Sodas&Popcorn …… We watch movies, so you (don’t) have to.