My Movie Review

Due to popular demand, here is a candid review of our favorite movie Chief Daddy

Director: Niyi Akinmolayan

Producers: Temidayo Abudu, Queen Martins
See the cast here:  Full Cast

The movie is a comedy that centers on Chief Beecroft (played by Taiwo Obileye) fondly called Chief Daddy (who in my opinion died too early in the movie) and the scramble for his wealth by his various dependents. 

With the broadcast of the news of his death, we are dramatically exposed to the life of the generous Chief, his amorous past and affluence enjoyed by his immediate family, numerous mistresses and their children; domestic servants and extended family who swamped his mansion in their desperate attempt to secure a piece of his estate to the devastation of his surviving glamorous wife (played by Joke Silva) and rapper wannabe son (played by Falz; supposed heir to his fortune. His hit single in the movie would leave you reeking with laughter).

 

Their arrival at his mansion and plan to get their fingers on his wealth is intriguingly halted by the content of the Codicil attached to the will and read out to the family by his lawyers, Tega (played by Richard Mofe-Damijo) and Remi (played by Dakore Akande) who are not in the dark about Chief Daddy’s past and facilitated the tracking of all his family members.

To everyone’s astonishment, Chief Daddy had a final request which must be complied with before the will could be read out to the feuding family. 

Just like his affluent and thrilling life style, he imposed the organization of a glamorous and befitting funeral on all his numerous children, wives, mistresses and relatives with an ultimatum that they should live together in his mansion until his burial was successfully executed. Everyone had a role to play in the funeral as apportioned by Chief daddy and the reading of the will was hinged on the success of the funeral. 

As expected, this turned out to be an uphill task. This was professionally depicted by several clashes, insider lobbying, and gimmicks by all the factions in the family mansion. The high point of the movie was the colorful and trendy funeral (the casket makers were thrilling) which eventually ended up in a disaster contrary to the final wish of Chief Daddy.

Chief Daddy's request was a fantastic twist to the movie which almost went the same route as the routine Nollywood story of a dead wealthy chief whose family was ready to die for a share of his wealth.

The conclusion also sprung a surprise and managed to escape being insipid. However, the explanation from Chief Daddy’s bankers, which I felt was some sort of distasteful advertising, killed whatever excitement I managed to get in the course of the movie. It actually got most people in the cinema somewhat confused (I could hear people asking for more explanations but they overlooked it the moment the mysterious lady alighted from her car). 

Sadly most of the scenes that could have made the movie a great story were either hassled or overlooked. The all-star cast was a tad too much for me as their potentials were not fully exploited. 

Nothwithstanding, I must commend the production, costumes, soundtrack and setting. Ini Edo's costume was always on-point!

In all, I actually enjoyed the nostalgic feeling I got seeing the iconic trio; Joke Silva, Nkem Owoh and Patience Ozokwor. I would say Chief Daddy scored major high points with the Nigerian audience who found it entertaining, humorous and refreshing for the holiday season (going by the awing, giggles and laughter at the cinema and the current rating by wikipedia). 

If you are keen on seeing an all star Nigerian movie with a generous splash of humor, then Chief Daddy is definitely a must watch.

#chiefdaddy