Starring:  John Dumelo, Rukky Sanda

Synopsis:  

An attractive man and woman develop a platonic relationship but are in denial that they’re attracted to each other.

Review:

This is a movie that explores whether the opposite sex can truly be just friends. Lauren (Rukky Sanda) and Tyroon (John Dumelo) met for the first time when Tyroon was dating one of her friends. They didn’t really get along at first and they lost contact. A few years later when they ran into each other again Tyroon was married and Lauren had a boyfriend.

Four years passed and Lauren and Tyroon crossed paths again but this time they were both single. They spent a tremendous amount of time together and developed a friendship while both harbored feelings for their exes.

They accepted dates with other people but somehow things never worked out which, left Lauren and Tyroon hanging out together. It wasn’t until Lauren broke down from the news about her ex getting remarried that the relationship between them changed course. Tyroon tried to comfort Lauren and one thing led to another and they became “more than friends.”

Let’s Talk. I can appreciate the fact that the relationship between Lauren and Tyroon developed slowly but it resulted in moments of straight up boredom. There was so much unnecessary dialogue that killed the little momentum the story had.

The movie went on for far too long and making matters worse is the fact that the audience was cheated of what should have been the climax of the story. All the shopping, dinners, and lunches that Lauren and Tyroon had together, should have led to at least one romantic, emotional, scene between them.

When Lauren and Tyroon finally slept together, we didn’t get a glimpse of even a kiss. Not that a blown out love scene was necessary, but there should have been some inkling that they slept together instead of us learning about it the next day when Tyroon confided in his friend. Actually the chemistry between Dumelo and Sanda wasn’t exactly steamy so maybe the lack of visual affection was a blessing.

The topic of whether there’s such a thing as platonic relationships between the opposite sex goes back to the Hollywood classic “When Harry Met Sally.” Nollywood’s movie “Virginia is for Lovers” also covered the subject. Both movies imply that sexual attraction always interferes with the friendship.   

As for technicalities, there were issues with sound. Some of the scenes had an ongoing humming sound in the background that was annoying.  No matter how the volume was adjusted it was still there.

Acting? Hmm…it was okay. There were some humorous moments, which was desperately needed. Rukky Sanda not only acted but also produced and directed. The fact that she would advertise her “Keeping My Man” movie within the story was a turn-off and it further disengaged my interest.

To conclude, I became weary of the drama early on and upon its ending I felt like I had just watched a six-hour movie. The problem with developing dialogue-driven scripts is that there has to be a balance of drama and intrigue, if not, the movie risks being drab, which was certainly the case here.

The biggest indicator that this wasn’t a good romance is the fact that I was waiting for Lauren and Tyroon to become a couple instead of rooting for them. Big difference. EJECT

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