TNSBY JAX OLOTU
Mr and Mrs 1 had everyone talking. It wasn’t that it had a one-of-a-kind story we had never seen before. It was in fact, that accepted because we have all seen it before, the woman who is treated like a smelly sock because her husband feels entitled, the woman who takes back her life instead of crying daily in the kitchen, looking like something forgotten in a waste bin. We all can relate. Plus Nse Ikpe-Etim’s acting made it such that we couldn’t forget her character in a long time.
Maybe this is what inspired a Chapter 2; the hope of another hit, another relatable story. Whatever it was, we are unhappy with it. Because it gave us a sequel that ruins the applause of the prequel, the only thing they have in common being the J-Martins soundtrack. Why not leave when the ovation is loudest?
In Mr. and Mrs. Chapter 2, a married couple’s life begins to fall apart when their source of wealth is frozen. Literally. Their unmarried couple friends are going back and forth about wedding plans. And the man’s parents are having their own battles of divorce and remarriage. Oh, and their children too have their own drama going, one with drugs and a huge debt, and the other with homosexuality.
It is hard to comprehend what was going on in the minds of the creators of this film, but none of its stories really hit home. Problems are thrown at the audience with no real root causes or resolutions. Paths are open and left unsealed, and it is so easy to wander away.
In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Chapter 2 leaves you with nearly nothing; no characters to love or hate, no acting to revere and shiver from, no real story to remember, nothing remarkable to hold on to. The scenes jump from place to place without a flow. The casting doesn’t work, and this is taking nothing away from the individual talent of its actors. Combined, however, it’s an offbeat tune.
The 2017 film is written by Ten Ikpe-Etim from a story by Chinwe Egwuagu, who is also the producer. It is directed by Teco Benson. It features Rita Dominic, Chidi Mokeme, Akin Lewis, Munachi Abii, Steve Onu ‘Yaw’, Efe Irele, Tana Adelana and Cassandra Odita.
