Movie Review: ‘I am Nazzy’, falls below benchmark

Movie Title: I am Nazzy

Running Time: 1hr 56minutes

Date released: April 1, 2022

Producer: Chinonso Arubayi

Director: Kayode Peters

Lead cast: Chinonso Arubayi, Jidekene Achufusi, Jimmy Odukoya, Denrele Edun, IK Ogbonna, Ada Jesus, Jay Rammal, Chioma Nwosu and Nons Miraj

Nollywood has improved in the last couple of years, courtesy of the cinema and social media. Although, not everybody of works in Nollywood deserves a stake on the big screen.

Many times, cinematic movies come with higher expectations because of the cinematography quality and the top-notch storyline and technicalities that make them highly anticipated.

Sadly, some of these so-called cinema movies fall short storyline-wise and are sometimes compared to Nollywood low-budget movies, which many describe as ‘Asaba-movies.’

Movies like Omo ghetto the saga, Wedding party 1, and other highest-grossing movies in Nollywood have set a precedent for what to expect from cinema movies.

‘I am Nazzy’ is Chinonso Arubayi’s first film as a producer.

The movie launches the fast-rising Nollywood actress into a whole new world of filmmaking but fails to hit the mark as an epic cinema rom-com movie.

Plots

‘I am Nazzy’ is the story of a female superstar, ‘Lady’, at the peak of her career, yet unhappy about the celebrity life and all the scandals and expectations that came with it.

Her boyfriend, Romeo, is a social media freak who focuses more on social media clicks and likes than her emotions. He is obsessed with his drive for attention and success.

Frustrated by all these, she decided to visit a therapist, and there, she was advised to take a break from all the troubles and expectations of celebrity life. But, unfortunately, her manager wasn’t going to have any of that.

Coincidentally she meets her look-alike, Chinaza, aka Nazzy, a wanna-be celebrity, in the bathroom.

Although they are both shocked to see how much they look alike, it seems like a perfect opportunity for lady to execute her plan to take a break.

With lady’s plea to swap places, Nazzy is fascinated that she would get to live her dreams.

Hurriedly Chinaza, from a poor background and had always wanted to find a place in the world of fame and wealth, welcomed the idea.

Would Nazzy survive in a whole different world as she pretends to be the celebrity Lady? Would Lady break from her reality affect her relationship and career?

Dual role

Ramsey Nouah’s performance in Tade Ogidan’s 2004 “Dangerous Twins” and Funke Akindele’s 2021 “Omo ghetto” are typical classic Nollywood dual roles movies.

A dual role occurs in a movie when an actor spontaneously plays more than two roles/characters, more often as a twin.

In most movies where the dual role technique is employed, we have seen the characters hug each other, making it seem so real that one would be tempted to believe that the actor has an actual twin.

However, it was shocking that ‘Lady’ and ‘Naza’ barely stood side by side throughout the movie.

High points

‘I am Nazzy’ is a film that teaches the reality of life. It tells the untold story of some ‘celebrities’.

It teaches that all that glitters is not gold; the life you wish for could be your greatest nightmare.

Also, unlike most Nigerian Rom-com movies, “I am Nazzy” goes outside the traditional mirror of what a rom-com should look like while simultaneously shedding light on a societal hot topic that isn’t talked about enough; mental health.

The cinematography is top-notch, and the costumes are apt.

The comic relief was also on point as comedian Buchi wasn’t overboard with his funny insertions.

They were simply timely and had didactic messages. Also, IK Ogbonna’s role, a stuttering village-lover boy, brought about another captivating comic relief.

Fluff

For one, “I am Nazzy” started on a high note as the first scenes were captivating enough.

The storyline isn’t a bad one at all. It could captivate the audience from the beginning to the movie’s end to a certain extent.

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Beyond the incredible storyline and cinematography, there’s nothing left of the movie.

At a point, there was no coherence between the storyline and what was being acted.

The filmmakers should come to terms with the reality that the Nigerian movie audience is intelligent and could spot the difference between ‘Lady’ and ‘Nazzy’ just a few scenes into the movie.

While Lady was polished with her English and had a good dress sense and incredible charisma, Nazzy was the direct contrast.

How would Nazzy’s mother not know she wasn’t living with her daughter with the difference in accent, dress, and character?

Romeo’s character was a complete flop. Jidekene Achufusi, who played Romeo, seems not to have done enough with this one compared to his spectacular acting in ‘Living in Bondage’and Kambili.

Think of the plethora of talents available in this movie, and one should expect them to deliver below par, saved for the Buchi and Ada Jesus.

The casting was good, yet the actors failed to deliver a memorable performance.

It is easy to argue that the actors had little opportunity to showcase their talents, especially as Denrele Edun and IK Ogbonna only made cameo appearances.

The last scene was a complete flop. The disjointed storyline left viewers with several unanswered questions like what happened to Nazzy’s dreams of becoming an actress and who was the movie’s protagonist, Nazzy or Lady?

Rating

5/10