Movie Review: Omugwo

It took me weeks to make up my mind to go see this movie. I knew the movie’s title made reference to an Igbo tradition, “Omugwo”. It is a process where the mother of the girl moves in with a couple for 3 months after they have had a brand new baby. The mother helps her daughter carry the baby, bathe both mother and baby, cook fresh fish pepper soup, clean the house arrange, coordinate, shop, and virtually do everything in the home. On most occasions, it is the mother of the wife that is invited.

Omugwo is a comedy with several funny scenes. The 1hr 30mins movie was rated PG. It featured actors like Patience Ozokwor, referred to as Mama Gee, Ayo Adesanya, Omowunmi Dada, Ken Erics, and many more. It was produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan.

In the opening scene, the audience was introduced to a newly wedded couple and their roles at work. Omotunde, a young female civil engineer was married to Raymond, an OAP for a radio station. When it was discovered they were expecting a baby, Raymond’s mother was more than delighted to come spend the mandatory 3 months with the couple and her granddaughter. Omotunde’s mother already had her bags packed to be in Milan. Thus, the idea of carrying out Omugwo was worlds apart from this classy, elegant, and beauty conscious grandmother. Still, immediately she heard Raymond’s mother was going, she changed plans and moved in at once.

The bulk of the movie focused on the tug of war between both grandmothers. They had to sleep on the same bed due to inadequate space. They fought and quarreled about almost everything, from sharing wrapper on the bed, to who can bathe the baby properly. Omotunde’s mum wasn’t as helpful, as she was wary of ruining her nails rather than helping out. At a point, she gave up and left all the work to Raymond’s mum. As there were quite a number of scenes to make you laugh hard, the movie ended on a very good note.

To my verdict this movie deserves a 6/10 as the cast and production were good. Audio and sound was good too. I wasn’t excited or blown away with this movie, because more was expected of the producer Kunle Afolayan. The truth is this isn’t a movie I would readily associate with him.  I expected more than a low budget, hurriedly shot movie. I must say, the movie left me wanting more. With several award-winning movies under Kunle Afolayan’s belt, “Omugwo” fell short.

 

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