Starring: John Dumelo, Rukky Sanda, Liz Benson, Mary Remmy Njoku, Ikay Ogbonna

Synopsis:

A poor woman with aspirations to be a dancer wins the heart of a successful businessman. 

Review:

Caroline (Rukky Sanda) had dreams of working in the entertainment industry but instead she sold fresh bread on the streets of Nigeria. She met Jason (John Dumelo), who was the handsome son of a frequent customer and he took a romantic interest in her. 

Jason was financially secure and luckily for Caroline he was single. As the two dated, their relationship was marred with negativity when her mother didn’t believe a successful man like Jason would ever take her seriously. Meanwhile, Jason’s mother had another woman in mind for him.  

As the story progressed, both Caroline and Jason’s mothers took ill. Caroline’s mother needed surgery and Jason’s mother was in need of blood. The question became whether Caroline would donate her blood to Jason’s mother, a woman that resented her, and would the kind gesture be accepted. 

Let’s Talk. This is another poor woman/rich man romantic fairytale. The problem here is that the relationship lacked the passion that makes an audience root for a couple. There wasn’t even a romantic kiss between love interests Jason and Caroline. Even when Jason proposed and she accepted, they hugged instead of kissed. Where was the passion? Actually, what was it that they liked about each other? There was nothing visibly substantial about their connection. 

The romantic storyline not only suffered because of outside interference, it sank because it shared the spotlight with Jason’s mother’s discriminative ways, which leads to the writing. It was irksome and painfully predictable The minute Jason’s mother needed a blood transfusion it was obvious that Caroline would miraculously be her blood type. Sigh… 

The story was also unoriginal. Lord knows how many poor girl/rich boy romances we’ve seen in Hollywood, Bollywood, and Nollywood. And this isn’t the last one we’re going to see. It’s an ancient romantic theme that filmmakers continue to emulate. 

I watch Rukky Sanda movies with a keen interest because I’m waiting for her to present at least a 4-star movie. Looks like I’ll be waiting a little longer. I do give her credit for getting movies made though. It’s no small feat to produce movies and people have to realize that when they’re watching a movie that what they’re seeing is the final product. Only the filmmakers know the problems experienced behind the scenes to get the movie made. So on that note I give Rukky Sanda a thumb up. 

In terms of acting, the chemistry between John Dumelo and Rukky Sanda was nonexistent. They were also love interests in Rukky’s movie “More Than Friends” and there was no spark there either. Hopefully, this is the last time we’ll have to see them as a couple.

The movie would have been better served had the lead role been played by someone else. Not that Rukky did a bad job; it’s that she looked a little older than what the role called for. As stated in a prior post, I’m cool with Rukky Sanda empowering herself and playing lead roles in her movies but sometimes you have to know when to step back. Overall, the acting of the entire cast wasn’t bad but also nothing to boast about.

As for technical issues, the sound was not aligned with the video in the very first scene where Rukky Sanda was singing. That scene just looked crazy. 

So, to conclude, yes, the main character, Caroline, did indeed turn the tables in her life as she reversed a life of poverty to one of financial stability but sadly, it wasn’t of her own accord. A more powerful story would have been if Caroline accomplished a constructive goal that changed the tide in her life. Marrying into money and making your own are two completely different things. 

On an up note, the story reiterates the adage that what you can conceive and believe, you can achieve. Other than that, “Changing Tides” is just another Cinderella story without the evil stepsisters and the glass slipper. EJECT