Glamour, Glitz, And Not Much Else
Movie remakes are a tricky enterprise. They offer the possibility to deliver a fresh, exciting take on time-honoured classics to glowing enconiums or serve up a flaccid, disappointing watered-down version of the same, ruining the fond memories of the viewers.
A Play Network production, Glamour Girls is a remake of a Nollywood classic. The brainchild of Charles Opaleke, whose studios are known for remaking old Nollywood blockbusters with mixed results, this latest offering is a cocktail of Bling, exotic characters, mindblowing locations, glitz and glam, but not much else.
The Plot
Glamour girls is a movie about a curious hybrid class of women trying to make it in Lagos, with all the usual struggles, hustles, and ups and downs. The “hustle” in this scenario is a high-class escort service run by the polished and experienced Donna played by Nse Ikpe Etim. Her clientele is the one per cent, the richest, the powerful, and the men with the fattest bank accounts. Up and comers need not apply. Donna is highly sophisticated and successful, so polished she’s almost gleaming. She runs her business with all the finesse and ruthlessness of a Fortune 500 CEO, a business she started with her friend Jemma, played by Joselyn Dumas, who left after finding love, resulting in a bitter estrangement. The grass-to-grace narrative is portrayed by Emma, a young street-smart stripper, who was fired from her previous job after being falsely accused of theft. Emma meets Donna, and the story kicks off from there.
There are several other amusing subplots; Lulu and her absentee husband, Hell and her drug problems, Jemma’s return to pay her husband’s medical bills etc. The major failing of the plot is that it tries to cover too many storylines and fails to tie them up convincingly at the end, thereby stifling the characters and leaving no room for development.
The writing of the film leaves much to be desired, with the film having no set main plot and moving haphazardly from subplot to subplot. The conflicts are set in a lazy manner without proper premises being set as if to just drag the plot forward one way or the other. The final act was decidedly rushed as if the director suddenly discovered that his screen time had a limit, leaving the audience with several unanswered questions. As a result, the pacing is off, and the finale seems half-cooked, like meat that wasn’t left on the fire long enough. There were some laughs here and there, but this is not a movie that pulled off drama or humour particularly well.
The Cinematography
The movie was beautifully shot. From the title, the audience’s expectation is that of glamour and the filmmakers delivered fully. From fast cars to exotic locations, beautiful wardrobes to amazing houses, the entire movie was a visual feast. The costumes were top notch, each character was garbed beautifully to show off all the glitz and bling. The aesthetics of the film were amazing. The soundtrack is another area where the film excels, a fusion of western and African sounds. The movie looks and sounds great but somehow contrives not to be great.
The Verdict
As stated at the beginning, remakes tend to fall into one of two categories. In this scenario, people who have seen the original will feel let down by what the remake offers. With existing material to work with, the margin for error is greatly reduced, but this is not properly taken advantage of. The movie seems to sacrifice its substance at the altar of aesthetics, with a disjointed plot, inconsistent pacing, and poor dialogue. The acting isn’t necessarily bad, but the actors were let down by the material. All in all, not a bad way to waste two and a half hours and a huge chunk of data. You’d be better off saving your time and money though.
