Starring: O.C. Ukeje, Nsikan Isaac, Tana Adelana

Synopsis:
Kunle’s professional relationship with his newly hired housemaid turns romantic after she accompanies him to a business dinner and helps him impress a client.

Review:
Kunle (OC Ukeje) was over thirty and had been under pressure from his mother to get married. He had a girlfriend but he hadn’t popped the question yet.

When he got ill his mother sent Idong (Nsikan Isaac) to work for him as a housemaid. Idong was unpolished and didn’t speak correct English but she got the job done.

A business dinner came up where Kunle had to make a presentation. His boss suggested that he take a date with him because the client, Sir Daniel (Keppy Ekpenyong) had a belief that unmarried men over thirty were irresponsible.

Kunle’s current girlfriend bowed out of the evening because she once had a fling with Sir Daniel so Kunle pulled out his “black book” to see which of his exes were available. None of them were so as a last resort, he had Idong escort him. 

Idong had a major makeover and looked very attractive on Kunle’s arm. She impressed Sir Daniel when he learned that they were from the same town. The evening went better than expected and Kunle started to see Idong in a new light and romance filled the air. Happily ever after? Not quite. Kunle’s girlfriend found out about their romantic involvement and she was out for blood.

Let’s Talk. This is a Cinderella story of sorts where the underdog or let’s say housemaid wins the heart of the prince. Original story? Not at all but lots of movies are recycled.

The storyline took us through Idong’s “bush girl” days to her magical transformation to modern woman. The movie was just as much in fairyland as Cinderella but somehow it managed to stay interesting. 

The story reiterates that love comes from within. Kunle was able to see value in Idong, the person, and he bypassed her low status as well as his perfectly pretty girlfriend. She may have been a housemaid but she took an interest in learning, exercising, and improving her English. In addition she cooked and cleaned and hey, it didn’t hurt that she was curvaceous.

This is what you call a well layered character. Idong wasn’t the brightest but she had so many other things going with her personality that there was a reason to like her. 

The story got a little “soapy” in the scene where Idong begged for Sir Daniel’s forgiveness. How convenient that Kunle walked in just in time to find her in Daniel’s arms. There’s a scene where she attempted to explain herself but the audience was cheated out of hearing the dialogue. Sigh…

Another point worth mentioning was how Kunle’s job was threatened by his relationship with his housemaid. This is what I call manufactured drama. At the end of the day, Kunle’s love life was none of his job’s business.

Casting was pretty good although I’m not so convinced that Kunle would have fallen so head over heels over Idong but performances were satisfactory.

To conclude, most of us watch movies to drift into a fantasy for a few hours and “Glass Slippers” is a modern fairytale that allowed us to do just that. RECOMMEND