Starring: Nakia Burrise, Jim Iyke, DaJuan Johnson, Trenton Rostedt

Synopsis:  

An African prince relocates to the U.S. to experience the land of freedom and democracy but finds himself in hot water when he defends a woman against her drug-dealing boyfriend.

Review:

DaJuan Johnson plays Kalu, an African prince living in the United States. He was employed at a local eatery when a thug came in to rob the place. He intercepted the robbery by ambushing the culprit him from behind, which allowed the owner of the establishment to gain possession of the gun. The robber was left defenseless and angry and he threatened Kalu.  

Kalu decided to be a hero again when Susan (Nakia Burisse) got into a scuffle with her drug-dealing, ex-boyfriend, Daven (Trenton Rostedt). Romance later developed between Kalu and Susan and they explored the cultural differences between them – African versus African American. As their romance blossomed, Kalu found himself in a feud with local drug traffickers. 

Let’s Talk. This movie shares a similar vibe to Hollywood’s “Coming to America” where an African prince comes to America and falls in love with an American girl. “Coming to America” was superior by far but to be fair it had a bigger budget to work with.

“Between Kings and Queens” was shot in the U.S. and this is where Nollywood met Hollywood. The movie sports a diverse cast, which is great because people of all races should be represented onscreen.

In terms of cultural differences between Africans and African Americans, the movie didn’t present anything new or profound. Nanna (Jim Iyke) referred to American women as trouble and Susan’s mother referred to African homes as trees. The comment regarding American women is so ridiculous that it’s laughable but Kalu does correct Nanna on his misconceptions. As far as Africans living in trees, I gather it was supposed to be funny but wasn’t.

As for story issues, when Nanna (Jim Iyke) was beat up and sent to the hospital by ambulance, what was his lover still doing in the apartment? That made no sense.

Also, the robbery scene didn’t ring true. Any robber would have at least punched lightweight Kalu in the face for putting him in a powerless position. Furthermore, the restaurant patrons sat there unalarmed and unaware that a robbery was taking place.

As for authenticity, I gather the audience was supposed to believe that the scenes with Kalu’s parents was shot in Africa but it’s painfully obvious that those scenes were shot in the U.S. along with the rest of the movie. 

As for acting, Nakia Burisse and DaJuan Johnson are talented performers and their budding relationship worked, however DaJuan needed to come up with a better African accent. As far as the remaining cast, there was some overacting and some scenes seemed contrived.

Overall, “Between Kings & Queens” lacked African authenticity even though it was directed by an African. There should have been a few more African actors to round out the cast. The movie had potential but somewhere along the way it fell flat. EJECT

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