Director: Lancelot Imaseun
Cast: Alex Ekubo, Yvonne Jegede, Princess Oyinbo And Francis Odega
Year: 2016
I let myself down after promising not to check this film out. With the lack of structuring of a proper cinema in these parts and the lack of proper communication, I ended up watching the film ATM. Since I have an opportunity to review it, I guess it is not that bad! Let’s talk; Authentic Tentative Marriage (ATM).
The movie, is the story of Robinson, a lazy Nigerian played by Alex Ekubo who uses women to get whatever he wants. First of, he is dating Caroline (Played by Yvonne Jegede), who provides for him and his uncle. In the hope of a better life he travels and starts the online dating trend (as many Yahoo boys do). He meets Emilia, a white lady from the UK. He extorts money from Emilia under the pretext that he would be marrying her. Unknown to him Emilia is not just any clown; she is fast involved in the game he is trying to play. The tables turn and she threatens to turn him to the EFCC, which instantly turns him to a house boy.
This is an interesting story but poorly executed. For so many reasons, I was not interested in ATM, from the poster to the trailer it spelled doom. Since I ended up in the cinema and just had to watch it, I would say that this story could have been handled better. There are some lazy Nigerian men out there trying to scam rich, white women to get a better life and if you have to make a slapstick comedy about it, do it in a way that is appealing. Osoufia in London is a masterpiece because of the care the filmmakers took to make an intriguing story. The fact that a film is a comedy does not mean the whole process should be laughable instead of the real content.
Acting was problematic on this project. Yvonne Jegede carries her own here, because she is good but featuring her in this film does not do anything for her talent. Alex Ekubo on the other hand, has played the playboy on almost every project, I have watched him in. Alex is not a comedian. The idea was to make comedy, but this wasn’t it. Alex did what he does in every other film, I mean he has his crowd and maybe it works but he should be willing to tell directors he wants to try something different.
Oyibo Princess was the biggest problem in this film. Her eagerness to deliver her lines fall flat, her Pidgin English does not sound Nigerian at all. It was like they scouted the first white woman to portray the role of Emilia and it failed. If the woman that was supposed to be scammed and who turns out wiser is this flat then, unfortunately, the rest of the film would fall flat too.
The other packaging elements, including sound and cinematography, were not also great. This film could have been a better idea if it was not rushed. Honestly, I saw potential in some scenes, if only they took time, to create something really enjoyable and used real comedians; we would have had the comedy of the year. Well, we would just wait for AY’s A Trip to Jamaica and see how that goes.
ATM gets 3/10 from Xplore.
Have you seen ATM, tell us what you think in the comments section.
Rejoice a movie enthusiast, who feels Art is inspiring, it makes her think and she believes it is the way forward. You can check her out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/joicesamuelabutsa
