When I mentioned to a friend that I would be seeing The Kujus Again, they were pleasantly surprised that there was a sequel. They spoke excitedly about the original, how it was so funny and dramatic. “You should see it,” they said and they asked to tag along to see the sequel. I didn’t get the time to watch the 2020 original but hearing someone speak about it so excitedly, I had my hopes up for The Kujus Again. My friend (with hopes of an interesting continuation) and I (hoping to be pleasantly surprised) went into the theatre, but judging from their countenance on leaving the cinema, it was obvious that the sequel did not live up to the expectations that its predecessor had created. 

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 In Introducing The Kujus, Mausi (Bisola Aiyeola) and Maugbe (Timini Egbuson) devise a plan to trick their other siblings into attending their mother’s fifth memorial, creating a whole lot of drama as they explored and examined their relationships. In The Kujus Again, Mauyan (Kunle Remi) and his girlfriend Lily (Sophie Alakija) announce their engagement at a family get together, an announcement that doesn’t move the group because of the couple’s previous shenanigans. Lily had intended for the wedding to take place at the Kujus family house but little did she know that the family house no longer existed. A disappointed Lily comes up with a solution: they are going to have an intimate destination wedding with a limited number of family and friends. Every member of the Kuju family is given a role to play in the wedding preparations. Maugbe and his friend Chuks (Folaremi Agunbiade) are tasked with handling the logistics of the wedding. Living up to their reputation, they almost ruin the wedding with their carelessness, creating the conflicts that the plot revolves around. 

The Kujus Again is set in 2020 during the pandemic and it also looks like the shooting also took place during this time judging from how almost all the locations are void of human life. It could also be seen in the way the actors interact with each other— keeping their distance unless necessary and making jokes about the pandemic. A lot of challenges must have come up while shooting a film during this period and could be one of the reasons the film is underwhelming, but there are other glaring problems that contributed to this. 

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The most striking thing about The Kujus Again is how shallow the plot is. There seems to be a lack of ideas and the plot just runs on fumes. While the central element of the plot: a wedding, has enough ingredients to cook up an exciting and funny family drama, the film comes out undercooked, lacking the spice that should have made it interesting. Most of the scenes are disjointed as the plot progresses without a clear pathway; several filler scenes and subplots are left unresolved, like the push and pull between Chuks and Ebi (Bimbo Ademoye) concerning their relationship and the tension in Mauti’s (Femi Jacobs) marriage. The unexplored half plots have the characters moving about aimlessly with no motivations and intentions, leaving the film empty and soulless.

 With reports of the original from people’s experience and online reviews, I imagine an energetic performance from every member of the cast but in The Kujus Again, there is really nothing to say about the acting performances, which are generally uninspiring, with the cast looking uninterested, as if forced to be together. They all give distracting half-hearted efforts. Also ruining the experience is the bad lighting quality which leaves the scenes inadequately lighted.

Written by Stephen’s frequent collaborator, Mannie Oiseomaye, The Kujus Again probably encountered more and different types of challenges than the original film, combined with mismanaged elements like the plot; all these issues add up to make the sequel a forced and unnecessary venture. 

The Kujus Again is currently in cinemas.

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Side Musings 

• The post-production party must have been empty. 
• What sort of irresponsible parents are those? 
• This could have been better with a lesser cast. 
• Why was the pastor’s role so necessary? 
• Introducing the Kujus (2019) is currently streaming on Prime Video.