Have you seen the trailer for From Lagos With Love? Don’t worry, you will soon. It is so Nollywood, beguiling in its tone and style. Damilola Adegbite agitatedly telling Jon Ogah that she wants a man that will fight for her, her face scrunched. And Sharon Ooja shaking with excitement as if on the verge of breaking in two. Even before digesting the plot synopsis, the tiresome element of love slaps me in the face.

Under one minute, the trailer manages to hint at something: Nollywood is a reboot ouroboros of unoriginal ideas. Every new movie release has been done before, and to the death, even disastrously worse because these movies often recycle the same cast. All right. Back to From Lagos With Love. So, why should I anticipate this movie? Nothing to see there, if I’m honest.

We are told that the movie follows a family reunion that exposes secrets and truths untold. Yeah right. These Nollywood people can exaggerate to the heavens. Perhaps the only secret that might turn up in the movie is that the characters of Adegbite and Ogah are related by blood. That said, Shaffy Bello plays the mother of Ogah’s character, and her slut-shaming of his love interest (Adegbite) reverberates icily after the trailer ends.

Disappointingly, From Lagos With Love is linked to writer Dami Elebe, whose name will be marred with this potentially bad product. Out in select theatres by August 31, From Lagos With Love is executive produced by Akin Akinkugbe and Tola Odunsi.

Editor