In 2009, when flip phones were still a thing and the world hadn’t been taken over by Instagram and TikToks, Toyin Abraham released the first instalment in the Alakada franchise, which slithered its way into our hearts with its mix of humour, cringe performances, and societal reflections. Despite high hopes from her fans, who long to see how Yetunde’s life would unravel, the sequels—Alakada 2 (2013), Alakada Reloaded (2017), Fate of Alakada: The Wedding Planner (2020)—didn’t quite hit the mark either. Their narrative meander and performances often fell flat. Now, with its latest instalment, Alakada: Bad and Boujee, the franchise seems to be tracing over old ground, merely recycling themes and character arcs from its predecessors. In trying to capture the humorous and social commentary template of the original, it ends up feeling like a familiar echo rather than a fresh, comedic-dramatic experience.
The opening sequence of Alakada: Bad and Boujee begins with a brutal and intense brawl, like a scene from recent Nollywood underworld dealings, which leaves destruction and carnage in its wake. But it doesn’t take long before it redirects its focus on Yetunde’s (Toyin Abraham) pretentious lifestyle and faux-affluent.
After the bloodbath, Madam Sharon (Ini Edo), an organ harvester and dealer disguised as a philanthropist, visits the Isale Eko neighbourhood to preach peace and share gifts with the community. We see Yetunde, flanked by her friends Rebecca (Bimbo Ademoye) and Abebi (Lizzy Jay), at the centre of the crowd, desperately waiting for their shares of the handouts. But when they are handed their donations, Yetunde rejects them because Madam Sharon’s media team is live-streaming the event on her social media. Yetunde, rich and famous on Instagram and TikTok about her supposed billionaire father, mustn’t be seen taking charitable gifts in the ghetto. That would tarnish her social media glam and influence.
The film walks the tightrope between drama and comedy with a grace that could make a circus performer jealous. It’s hard not to laugh when Yetunde’s life starts unravelling, like when she hosts food critic Opeyemi Famakin (as himself) on a date at a fancy restaurant. An old-time friend walks in and is shocked by Yetunde’s glamorous look. Knowing Yetunde’s lifestyle is more fiction than fact, she decides to crush her lies, despite Yetunde’s pretension of not knowing who she is. Opeyemi Famakin, feeling disappointed, walks out on the date. The outcome is disgraceful for Yetunde and her friends. But that doesn’t stop her from telling more larger-than-life tales about her family’s wealth.
This sequel turns up the dial on comedy. Yetunde’s antics become increasingly outlandish—the laughs are plentiful, and her actions are pitiable. The scene where Yetunde and friends visit Madam Shine Shine’s (Ronke Odusanya) boutique to get outfits for her fake Instagram life includes some of the movie’s best laughs, poking fun at Asabi’s appearance and behaviour. However, the facade goes beyond that of Yetunde’s deceptiveness in exotic locales. The double lifestyle involves her brother, Jide (Odunlade Adekola), the seemingly good sheep of the family.
The screenplay, credited to Shikemi Felix, uses the backdrop of the social media influencers boom to highlight the absurdity of online personas. To many of her fans, Yetunde is a rich lady born into wealth. Despite that straightforward path, the narrative is overstuffed and convoluted with subplots. The screenplay’s attempt to tackle topics like fabricated luxurious personas, abusive relationships, and the pretentiousness of some philanthropists comes across as heavy-handed and disjointed. An instance is the sudden jump into the abusive relationship between Alaba (Yhemolee), and Mayowa (Okusanya Lolade), which is incongruous and undercooked. Regardless, the humour is sharp, often poking fun at the influencer culture and pretentious lifestyles of fake-it-until-you-make-it and the gullibility of their followers.
Beneath the humour, there’s a piteous observation of how far someone will go to maintain a truthful life, especially when lies have become one’s identity. After witnessing the gruesome killing orchestrated by Madam Sharon, Yetunde runs around, trying to convince everyone about the evil deeds of Madam Sharon. But since she’s synonymous with lies, no one believes her. It breaks her heart. She remembers Jide once warned her to desist from lying because nobody would believe her when she needed them to be.
Director Adebayo Tijani clearly embraced the chaos of contemporary culture. The film’s inclusion of famous TikTok and Instagram influencers makes it timely. But these influencers aren’t trained actors, so their rowdy performances ruin the film’s intended substance. The cameos of the TikTok influencer Peller, actor Chimezie Imo, and the singer Portable are exercises in inanity. It’s more of a gimmick, leaving us questioning their purpose beyond mere recognition—they contribute nothing but a fleeting, hollow spectacle to the narrative.
Toyin Abraham‘s Yetunde is notably lacklustre like in the previous Alakada films. Her acting here lacks the necessary emotions just like her risible lies. However, the supporting cast offers some redeeming qualities. Though not her best, Bimbo Ademoye‘s Rebecca impresses as the moral compass, serving as the voice of reason among the trio. On the other end of the spectrum, Lizzy Jay’s Abebi, characterized by her stark illiteracy, brings a humorous, foolish charm to the movie. Her antics are the source of much of the film’s comedy.
Just like the previous instalments in the franchise, Alakada: Bad and Boujee is an unimpressive addiction. With a plot that recycles familiar tropes without much innovation, it trades in too much nostalgia over innovative ideas. The forced return of Alakada, just like A.Y Makun’s Akpos and Funke Akindele’s Jenifa, comes across as marketing ploys for the blockbuster season rather than organic story enhancements. We could have achieved both.
Alakada: Bad and Boujee premiered at the cinemas on December 20.
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Side Musings
- After her dad wakes her from her world-touring dream, Yetunde says her dad is a bully like the people on Twitter. It’s funny (or unfunny) that a situation is playing out on Twitter concerning her recent post on Instagram and Twitter about Alakada: Bad and Boujee. She deleted the post after a barrage of assaults.
- I like how Jide tells Alaba to fight a trained female boxer as a correction for beating his girlfriend Mayowa, Jide’s youngest sister. He should use the power and skills he uses to beat his girlfriend to fight the professional female boxer.
- I think our filmmakers should desist from making those tepid franchises. While there are certainly audiences for the fan service franchise, the movies often leave those hoping for a meaningful continuation of the series feeling underwhelmed. They are visually entertaining rides but lack the soul and substance fans have come to expect from them.
2 Comments
It is very easy to rundown efforts ,.much hilarious when the vocabs are hitting high heaven. Direct this energy to your screen writing hustle, you will see success. You sat down with so much anger and disdain and write this epistle to who?. Anytime you are able to take loans, gather people and produce just anything other than pen on paper, let me know.
Hmmn were you paid to do this because I don’t understand the total backlash from beginning to end..Why didn’t you talk about all of the cast like you did in Every body love Jennifer..Alakada Franchise has been interesting from the the very beginning and your rubbish of a review will not change that!!!Thrash