Title: BIRTHDAY BASH (Full Story) 

Starring: Yul Educhie, Belinda Effah, Desmond Elliott, Morris Sesay, Ginnefine Kanu

Synopsis:

A birthday bash turns into an uproar when armed robbers intercept it.

Review:

Marvin (Morris Sesay) planned a birthday party for his girlfriend, Cynthia (Belinda Effah). He was dressed to impress and guests gathered at his home to celebrate. 

All of a sudden two of the guests protruded from the crowd and fired shots into the air to make their intentions known. Little did they know, they weren’t the only ones with the idea to rob the place and they found themselves with unexpected company when two others robbers drew their guns. 

As the guests were stripped of their valuables the four robbers clashed and then attempted to join forces. By the end of the night, surprise alliances were revealed and lives were taken. 

Let’s Talk. This is a robbery gone wrong. The story appeared to be an attempt at humor but it was completely unbelievable. Real thieves rob and then run. They don’t hang around for as long as these robbers did. 

There was even a scene where one of the robbers was singing a song along with the guests. Even if that scene was meant to be funny it has to make sense. It didn’t. 

Amidst the chaos there were minor subplots such as a love triangle and trouble in paradise for Marvin and his girlfriend. The story did have one unpredictable element but it wasn’t enough to resurrect the movie. 

Subtitles were graciously provided for some of the dialogue but it was riddled with misspellings. The word “disunderstanding” was used quite a bit and guess what? It isn’t a word. The correct word is misunderstanding. 

The props department forgot the blood in one of the shootings and there were problems with sound. No surprise there. That’s the norm with African movies. 

Performances are not worth going into. This seemed to be more of a social gathering than a drama. Sometimes movies actually look good on the script level but when it’s translated onto the screen it’s a totally different picture. That may have been the case here. 

Needless to say this movie was a bust. The only upside is that it had a short running time. EJECT