First Thoughts

Ruth Kadiri did what no YouTube channel has been able to do so far: make a movie with HER golden boy, Chidi Dike and Uchenna Mbunabo’s star boy, Clinton Joshua Ezewele. 

Honestly, the movie was 

I enjoyed it.

The Cast and Crew

Chidi Dike as Chris
Clinton Joshua Ezewele as Ini
Chy Nwakanma as Kayla
Fortune Kingsley as James
Stefania Bassey as Natalie
Morgan Nwamba as Mr Ekong
Bini Oghenerobo as Lecturer
Akinpelu Olatomiwa as Gbenro

Written by Adaeze Ibechukwu
Produced by Ruth Kadiri, Precious Kadiri
Directed by Ben Cassie
Soundtrack: 

Full Story

Ini is a university undergrad who (according to him) has a toxic relationship with school. He also has a toxic, albeit fractured relationship with his father Mr. Ekong. 

Mr Ekong loves Ini but he is not the best father out there. He is what you call a trash bag, no-good-for-nothing-ass 

He cheated on Ini’s mother throughout their marriage with his personal assistant and then threw Ini’s mother away after which he married that same personal assistant. 

Oh and to add insult to injury, the yeye Mr Ekong then asked Ini to be his best man. Like…

Don’t you have an iota of shame? How are you going to ask your son to be your best man in a wedding that turns THE WOMAN YOU CHEATED ON HIS MOTHER WITH into his stepmother? The hell?!

Anyway, Ini refuses. He and Mr Ekong have a spat and Ini asks Mr Ekong to leave. 

While Ini is going through all his drama, Kayla a new transfer student is going through her own shit.

Kayla is a new transfer student who is best friends with a guy named Chris. Chris is IN LOVE with Kayla but she is clueless about his feelings. 

Kayla on her first day of school moves into her room. Her roommate Natalie is a fashionable and sweet girl. 

The next day Chris decides that is the day he lets Kayla know he has feelings for her. So he takes his bath, dresses up and drenchs himself in perfume. 

Sadly, when he goes to her room to tell her how he feels, she gets a call from her sponsor’s PA. Her sponsor died and she is distraught. On hearing the news, Chris postpones his love proposition and consoles Kayla instead. 

Natalie also hears about the sad news and consoles Kayla. She gives Kayla an expensive perfume she got from Ini to cheer Kayla up. 

Now let’s rewind a bit. 

Ini has two best friends:  Natalie and James. I didn’t quite understand the relationship between Natalie and James. From what I gathered, Natalie and James are a couple — I may be wrong but yeah, watch it yourself and correct me. 

So before Natalie went home to meet a grieving Kayla, she was at Ini and James’s place where she “stole” the perfume from Ini. When she got home and found Kayla sad, she gave Kayla the perfume to cheer Kayla up.

She tried to sell it for 10,000 naira but the girls who wanted to buy it priced her down to 4000 naira. Ini who happened to be at the school canteen chimes in, revealing the real price of the perfume. The perfume costs over 100,000 naira. On hearing this, Kayla cancels the sale and goes home. 

That same evening, Ini visits Natalie. He knocks on the door, Kayla answers and asks Ini if he is stalking her. He looks at her like she’s crazy and then Natalie comes out to do the introduction. Ini exposes Kayla’s botched perfume sale to Natalie and Natalie is upset. She then reveals that she gifted Kayla the perfume which leads Ini to put two and two together. The perfume Kayla tried to sell was his and he too gets upset and leaves. 

Kayla later apologises to Natalie and they are cool again. Natalie even offers to buy Kayla a 30,000 naira VIP ticket for them to go to a party with Ini and James. 

Chris isn’t happy about this new development. He thinks Natalie is “forcing” a friendship on Kayla. Chris asks Kayla not to go to the party. She should fake an illness.

Kayla does as Chris instructed but when she finds out that Natalie has already paid for the ticket, Kayla changes her mind. She goes to the party with Ini, James and Natalie. 

At the party, Kayla goes outside to get some fresh air and Ini joins her shortly after. They get talking and Kayla says something about Ini talking too much is unattractive and Ini rebuffs with a

“I don’t care if you find me attractive or not. I would rather die single than to end up with someone like you”

The next day, Ini and James drop Kayla and Natalie at their hostel. Waiting at the gate is Chris and he is upset, fuming with jealousy. When he finds out that Kayla spent the night at Ini and James’ house, he walks out on her. 

Chris blocks Ini at school to warn him to

“stay away from my girlfriend”

Ini goes over to Kayla and Natalie’s room to tell her to warn her boyfriend. Kayla goes to Chris to find out why he did what he did and Chris comes up with some bullshit reason

“I don’t trust that boy around you”

Ini speaks with his mother on the phone and she asks him to take his studies seriously. He says he has tried but can’t seem to ever do well in school so his mum suggests he get a tutor.

Ini says he will and when he finds out that Kayla is a straight-A student, he tries to convince her to tutor him. She refuses because she can’t stand him — all to the delight of Chris whose fragile ego is hanging by a thread. 

Ini doesn’t relent though. He keeps pestering Kayla until Natalie intervenes on his behalf. She pleads with Kayla to tutor him and Kayla agrees to do it because of her. When Chris hears this, he is not happy. He becomes a hawk and even offers to tutor Ini which Kayla brushes off.

At the beginning of Kayla tutoring Ini, he doesn’t do well. He is forgetful and shows very little progress. Kayla asks if he is going through anything personal at home and he becomes defensive. Kayla then advises him to find a way to deal with it because that is the only way he can free himself and fully immerse himself in schoolwork.

Ini does and begins to show progress. Also, he and Kayla form a friendship. Their friendship reveals Ini’s kinder and more caring side. He is the type of person who would move the earth for his friends.

Chris on the other hand turns into a jerk and starts giving Kayla attitude. Unfortunately for him, the farther he pushed Kayla away, the closer she got to Ini. She even begins to have a crush on Ini and Natalie starts shipping them.

While seated on a bench outside, Ini confesses his feelings to Kayla. Chris, who had decided that same day would be the day he tells Kayla how he feels, sees them holding hands and he causes a scene.

Chris yells, “leave my girlfriend alone” and Kayla is like 

Then Chris blurts out “It’s because I love you!”

Kayla is shocked, Ini storms off and Kayla follows suit, leaving Chris all alone. 

Days pass and whenever Ini tries to talk to Kayla, Chris cockblocks him

Which makes the situation more awkward than it needs to be. 

Kayla eventually handles the situation. She calls Chris and tells him that although she once had a crush on him, she doesn’t feel like that anymore. He is now more like a brother to her. 

Damn

Then she goes to Ini and tells him that she likes him a lot. She has feelings for him but is not ready yet because being with him would jeopardise her friendship with Chris. Ini isn’t happy with her resolve and tries to convince her otherwise but she maintains her stance. 

In the end, they seem to be all happy with the three of them now having a mini friend group. 

Rating out of 10

I give it 🤗.🤗.🤗.🤗.🤗.🤗.

One thing I loved about this movie was the chemistry between the cast. There was this ease at which all of them interacted. 

None of the scenes felt forced, or awkward or cringe. It was easy like Sunday morning. I dig that. 

Also, Chy is the first woman Clinton has had the best chemistry with. Even her scenes with Chidi were great.

As for the ending, I didn’t like it but I respect it. It was an alternative ending and it subverted my expectations.