Toni Tones has only been in two movies, 2016’s It’s Her Day and 2018’s June. The latter, which is a romantic comedy directed by Desmond Elliot, shares a rich character link to how Tones is portrayed in Sobe Charles Umeh’s 5th Floor. In fact, the characters are the same. In the film, hewed closely to the corporate, finance world, Tones as Ruby Richards takes over her father’s company as CEO and her first day at work is the literal fire and brimstone. But she first meets 1st floor worker Stephen (Jose Tolbert) in the company’s parking lot, whom she ignores when he politely tells her to park her car properly.

5th Floor, as in the floor over which Ruby presides as CEO, is an important, reverential place. And Ruby knows it. From there, she looks down on her “subordinates” and does whatever she likes, even firing a senior staff right in front of everyone in a meeting just because he challenged her authority. Her personal assistant Patsy (Oma Nnadi) has every reason to strangle her new boss: she’s fairly recuperating from an ankle sprain and yet, when Ruby initially sees her wearing flats, she condescendingly tells her to put on some heels, or be fired. Ruby is the corporate power monger that the staff on the 1st Floor didn’t see coming.

In a twist of events, her father comes under investigation for fraud and his assets are seized to repay what he owes. Ruby is disastrously demoted as 1st Floor intern, and she is ridiculed and defanged in the position by the lower staff, sent to mend shoes and buy roasted corn and sachet water. But an aspect of 5th Floor that I didn’t expect is the way it explores domestic violence. And, surprise, surprise, ex-Brother Naija housemate Kemen plays the role of an abusive husband to Patsy. Don’t get me started on Kemen, who was evicted from season 2 of Big Brother Naija for sexual misconduct. At the end of the day, 5th Floor makes a hero out of Ruby. With fashion, poise, and unexpected selflessness, Toni Tones brings a complexity to the film, a reminder that there’s a vestige of goodness in people regardless of how bad they are.