REVIEW AND CRITICISM ON KOBI RANA'S 'I DO'

DIRECTOR: Kobi Rana

STORY/SCREENPLAY: Kobi Rana

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ABC Pictures

PRODUCER: Kafui Danku

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Justice Abadah

D.O.P: Gaf Marley

EDITOR/GRAPHICS: Enoch Obiri Yeboah

MUSIC SCORE: GMK

STARRING: Kafui Danku, Jose Tolbert, Elikem Kumodji, Jasmine Baroudi, Nana Ama McBrown, Van Vicker, Mawuli Gavor, Roselyn Ngissah, Justice Abadah, among others.

 

INTRODUCTION

I was a bit dumbfounded but happy when I got to the Accra Mall to be informed that the first and second show of ‘I DO’ premiere on the 6^th of March was sold out. This may be a 2015 record for the producer but sends a simple message to the many producers out there not to neglect the importance of publicity. As much as one may have spent thousands to produce his/her movie, it is to his/her benefit if he/she adds a few more thousands to help publicize his/her product. And that I believe was the very reason ‘I DO’ was sold out even though it did fall on another ‘boring’ independence day. #keepsupportingtheindustry

 

REVIEW

‘I DO’, in my opinion, is the first ever multiple loose adaptation film in the history of Ghana since one can openly notice the plots taken from numerous art pieces such as ‘LOVE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT’, ‘PRETTY WOMAN’, ‘4 PLAY’ and other films by Pascal Amanfo and Frank Rajah Arase. Not to say it is bad, but to say most plots from these films were just too obvious; they at least deserve a little acknowledgement from the director.

‘I DO’ tells the story of four best friends played by Mawuli Gavor, Elikem Kumodji, Van Vicker and Jose Tolbert, who promised each other to get married on the same day, same time and same place. As silly as it may sound, it did happen on a fateful day at beautiful venue; where these four hot and handsome looking gentlemen tied the knot with four sizzling, sexy and sassy ladies played by Roselyn Ngissah, Jasmine Baroudi, Nana Ama McBrown and Kafui Danku.

The film opens at the wedding ceremony which is officiated by Appietus, who reads the vows for the gentlemen to respond to. They decide to play a trick on the ladies by giving them the unusual responds of ‘never!’, ‘over my dead body’, which left the ladies stupefied (one can surely imagine their thoughts at that very moment). Like iced water poured on a flame, they relax their sorrowful looking faces with a beautiful smile as they change their respond to big ‘yes’.

The story gets deeper when Jasmine reveals her past lifestyle as a lesbian; with her partner being present at the same hotel. She is therefore left to decide on who she wants to spend her life with – her husband or lesbian partner. Roselyn also gets to find out of Mawuli’s infertility after he played gimmicks on her with the excuse of having tummy upset to ignore her. Van Vicker on the other hand comes out of the bathroom after his shower to find his wife dead. (SPOILER ALERT: Van Vicker was dreaming) For Jose, even though it is a marriage contract, he notices that he is in love with Kafui Danku and as such does his best to keep her to himself.

It finally concludes with Jasmine bidding her lesbian partner goodbye with a hug. Nana Ama is promised an everlasting love from Van Vicker no matter what she goes through in life. Jose is also able to convince Kafui to stay with him after several minutes of talk as Roselyn forgives Mawuli and accepts him for who he is. (Eeeeiiii! Eba fee gbeyei)

The story therefore gets a 20 out of 50.

CRITICISMS

Even though it is a parody, the way a sensitive issue like ‘lesbianism’ was handled was a bit unprofessional. Ever since the issue of ‘homosexuality’ came up in the public domain, many found it disturbing and as such became a very popular debate in the country. I very well know that the film industry is filled with so much freedom, but that freedom should not be used to over step sensitive boundaries. This isn’t the first time this topic has been treated since filmmakers like Pascal Amanfo and Frank Rajah Arase have tackled this same topic but on a softer and lighter manner than I saw in ‘I DO’. The scene where Jasmine kissed her lesbian partner was a bit too intense to watch; and this you could see on the faces of the audience as they felt so uncomfortable watching. I must say I admire the courage of the ladies to act that particular scene; but I also felt that its subtraction wouldn’t have changed the course of the film. This is not to say that we should not shoot sex scenes but to state that it is worth it when the story calls for it. Some examples will be the Hollywood films – ‘Body Heat’ and ‘Fatal Attraction’.

As an actor, knowing and understanding the character you are to play makes it easier for you to give your very best. That is why I am mostly offended when some ‘intellectuals’ insult the ‘kumawood films’. Even though some do not use scripts, the directors make sure that the actors understand the role they are about to play and as such keep to it throughout the film; and that is lacked in most of the ‘Glamour films’. The actor is not just made to understand the role and keep to it, but also characterized with how to talk, walk and look. This I say because I always see Elikem with ear piercings. Is that part of his character in all these movies? As much as the actor must be real does not mean he or she needs to show a bit of who he/she is in the new character or form he/she is playing. That makes the identity of the role he/she is playing unbelievable. That is why I would say the Nana Ama McBrown’s performance was at her utmost peak in comparison to the others. She kept her characterization and brought her role to life in each scene. I must also acknowledge the acting skill of Justice Abadah (Hotel Receptionist), he was just fun to watch. I hope to see more of him soon. I would give the general acting in this film a 6.5 out of 10.

I am a big fan of Enoch Obiri Yeboah’s editing, but I must say that some scenes in this particular film lacked a lot of pacing and rhythm. I most often state that the editor is the final director because he/she tells the final story by putting together images. But when the editor lacks his/her touch on the film then he/she is more of a cutter than an editor. And for this very film, I felt Enoch was more of a cutter than an editor since all he did was to cut different portion of every shot given to him by the director forgetting to add some sense of pace and rhythm. Watching the scene where Nana Ama McBrown stood by the mirror crying, I was taken out of the mood when the editor shifted the attention from her face to show her and the entire room. It kept me wondering exactly what the editor wanted me to see by giving that shot. The attention was on her and not the room, so the attention should have been left on her face ignoring that shot even though the director did take it. Another is the scene where Jasmine and her lesbian partner were on the bed having a chat about what to do next. Since the course of the story was dependent on the dialogue than the beauty of the shots, Enoch should have kept the attention on them with either the two shots from behind or with the profile shots which Gaf Marley racked focus. We needed to concentrate on the dialogue than on the room. The room at that very moment was of no use to the story. Apart from this and other petty negligence on the side of Enoch, I will give him a 6 out of 10 for this film.

I don’t know if it is Kobi Rana’s love for steady shots or that of Gaf Marley’s preference to do so, but its use was so much that it was very difficult to tell whether it is a POV (a point of view) of a cast or just a style. I am not against steady shots or hand held shots since the ‘BIRDMAN’ movie which took the overall best picture at this year’s OSCARS was full of it; but against it when it lacks meaning. And it lacks meaning when the viewer is unable to attach meaning to its use in the film. If it is a style, the shakes shouldn’t be too visible for the audience to notice. Apart from this and the numerous out of focus shots I had to overlook throughout the film, I will give Gaf Marley a 6 out of 10 also for his work on this film. 

For the music used in this film, I will say I was most comfortable with the actual ‘I DO’ soundtrack than that of Kobi Rana’s ‘Gben Gben’, which I felt its lyrics contradicted what was on scene. Who was hating and who was elevating? The use of the background music was just too much that it most often than not conflicted with the dialogue. Each time there was no dialogue, there is either a soundtrack or background music. Forgetting that silence is also of much importance. GMK therefore deserves a 5 out of 10 for the music score.

The art director for this production can be praised for the beautiful suits designed for the grooms, the make-up, costumes and the bedroom design of each couple. Unlike the normal black suits, it had a touch of the Ghanaian Kente to spice it up. The lovely decoration of the beds with roses and cakes was just appealing to the eye. It may have been mirrored but done perfectly. I will give the art director a 7 out of 10. 

In conclusion, ‘I DO’ gets a 50.5% rating.

I must say that I was a bit shocked that Kobi Rana didn’t make an appearance in this flick, which is a 2015 record; unless I did not notice him.