Nigerian spinsters will relate to Omawumi and Waje's "She Is"

Nigerian songstresses Omamuwi Megbele and Aituaje “Waje” Iroube star in
the romcom “She Is” while making their debut as producers under Hermanes Media. The premise of their film is the disappointments single Nigerian women contend with in their search for Mr Right.

Jade Osiberu’s 2017 film “Isoken” told this story from the standpoint of family pressure but Omawumi and Waje’s “She Is” digs deeper. What happens when a woman has a genuine reason to be desperate? Her health.

Somkele Idhalama plays the lead role in “She Is”. After taking on supporting roles in “The Wedding Party, “93 Days”, “The Arbitration” and the recently uneventful “Lara and The Beat’, she gets the opportunity to prove her mettle.

Idhalama is Frances Anyaoku, a thirty-something year old realtor. The former worldly Frances is now a born again Christian. She even heads the singles fellowship at her church. Meanwhile, love is in the air. Frances has a crush on her pastor, Jude. He however dashed her hopes when he introduced her to his fiance, Erica. That’s not all. Her dad (Ejike Asiegbu) also wants to marry for the third time. More so, her security man Tobias (Bishop Ime) tells her that he’s marrying the laundry lady Gloria!

On the contrary, Frances doesn’t have good news. She begins to suffer from excessive bleeding and her gynecologist (Lami Phillips) reveals that she has fibroid. She needs to have a baby quickly. But she has no man. Her friends including the pragmatic Jess (Omawumi) weigh-in. But the ultimate decision is hers to make. What happens next? Your guess is as good as mine.

“She Is” might be Omawumi and Waje’s first shot at production but they’ve had stints at acting. Omawumi has featured in stage plays including the 2009 edition of the “V-Monolugues” and a musical “Olurombi”. With regard to feature films, she has had roles in “Inale”, a Bongos-Ikwe production, Funke Akindele’s “Return of Jenifa” and Yvonne Nelson’s “House of Gold”. As for Waje, she made her acting debut in Stanlee Ohikhuare’s 2014 drama “Tunnel”. As a result, we expected a breakout role for either of the divas, as with Reminisce in “King of Boys”. But maybe we are too bullish. As they only brought their star power and good music to the film.

Waje’s “I wish”, Omamumi’s “If You Ask Me” and “Bottom Belle” are prominent. The divas also produce an original score titled “She Is”. It’s a deep lamentation that appeals to your emotions. With regard to Elvina Ibru, “Power of 1” shows that she only needs one scene to prove her acting prowess. To our dismay, “She Is” did not demand much from her. A nameless actress might as well have played her character.

Yet Ms Idhalama carried her role with grace and brought Frances alive but the movie is not without flaws. Firstly, Frances’s dates with Roland (Mawuli Gavor) were very unnatural – especially at the restaurant. While director Chris Eneng Enaji might have wanted Roland to come across as arrogant, even rude people need a push to get them to flip. It’s also hard to believe that Frances’s dad would set-up his only daughter with his employee Romanus (Frank Donga). A man who is way below her social class, however desperate he might be. And that didn’t sound like Segun Arinze’s voice in the call to Desmond Elliot.

But Omawumi and Waje’s “She Is” is not lacking in real comedy. If there’s something Nollywood veteran and comedian Chiwetelu Agu (Chief Okala) is known for, it is originality. You will wait with bated breathe for one of Agu’s epic exclamations. And you finally get it after he brags about his Anglican Knighthood. In response to an unimpressed Frances, he says, ‘Frances amara ma alu a lu’. And as usual, he leaves you in stitches. Ime and Frank Donga were also completely in their element. They add to the humour.

“She Is” is not exceptional but extremely relatable. Frances’s story is akin to that of many spinsters, not necessarily successful career women. Everyone has an opinion about why they are single. Their family and acquaintances all want to play matchmaker. And their options are few and far between. There are the abusers like Pastor Chike (Uzor Arukwe). And the devils like Roland – who go to church just to get laid. She is caught between a rock and a hard place.

“She Is” was released on 22 March and is showing in theatres.