IF YOU ARE IN GOD’S PHOTO ALBUM, HE BLESSES YOU WITH BREADED LIFE AND A TODOWEDE

By Joseph Omoniyi

Synopsis/Summary

Biodun Stephen’s Breaded Life chronicles the life of Sunmi, a spoilt, entitled 25-year-old son (Timini Egbuson) of a wealthy mother (Tina Mba) as everyone in his life forgets him after an incident he cannot remember. He gets thrown out of the house and out of the life of everyone he knows only to be embraced by Todowede (Bimbo Ademoye) the local bread seller – the only person in the world that recognizes him. Written and directed by Biodun Stephen, Breaded Life which is a sequel to Picture Perfect – a romantic comedy released in 2016, stands off its prequel just to retain some of its characters. The 120 minute-51 seconds dramedy which features Nollywood veterans, Tina Mba, Prince Jide Kosoko, superstars, Timini Egbuson, Bimbo Ademoye, Bisola Ayeola,  Lateef Adedimeji, Bolanle Ninalowo, Nkechi Blessing, and social media comedians, Michael Sani (MC Lively), Stanley Chibunna (Funnybone), Adeyela Adebola (Lizzy Jay), currently sits atop of Netflix Top10 Movies in Nigeria.

 

CDP

Although not related to the major plot, Breaded Life’s opening frame sets the tone of the movie story – comedy-drama. A clownish security officer of a rich house, Iskilu tries to exploit, and harass a local bread-seller, Todowede who is uptight and takes no such nonsense, even at the expense of losing a sale or customer. After setting us up with a couple of conflicts between Sunmi and his mom about his reckless life, the movie jerks into its inciting incident – Sunmi is arrested for ‘bugling’ into the house and the ‘guesthouse’. All of a sudden, nobody remembers who he is. The maid, security officer, his friends, and the police DPO who had recently detained him. Even his pictures vanish from the family photo album. Forced to take shelter in the streets, Sunmi stumbles on Todowede who mysteriously remembers him, takes him in, and promises to help him make a living out of his new reality. Will Sunmi be able to survive the hard life of his new reality or will he get his old life back?

Plot/Sub-plot/Plants

This is no story we have never seen before, but Biodun Stephen finds a way to make it enjoyable with situational comedy and drama. Even if it’s predictable with an unbelievable twist, she manages to weave a feel-good plot that leaves the audience smiling from ear to ear. A wealthy parent is worried sick about the wayward, reckless, carefree, extravagant lifestyle of their only son. Bent on finding a way to teach him a lesson, they have a couple of hot exchanges about his late nights, clubbing, missing classes, and all other variants of his recklessness.  The mother feels she’s done everything possible to make him make a better life for himself while he wants to live his life the way he wants. After getting grounded, he brings the party to his house, his room, banging, grinding, and blasting music that wakes the mother up in the middle of the night. Furious, she gets all of them arrested, including her son. After being pacified by her first born, Lara who lives overseas, Sunmi’s mother finally approves of his and others’ release from the police cell. Maybe he would have learned his lessons – no he has not. He would not believe that this ‘high-handedness’ is how a mother shows her love to her only son, even when Aunty Agy tries convincing him otherwise. Aunty Agy also manages to lecture us and Sunmi about how the so-called madam has been nice to her and how money management is his problem and not lack of enough money. How he receives so much money as his allowance and still not contented, compared to Aunty Agy whose salary is nothing close to that still manages well. This plant manages to explain how juvenile delinquency makes especially teenagers think their parents hate them for their discipline or restrictiveness, even if this spoilt brat is 25 years old. In the middle of their conversation, Sunmi reveals what he believes his mom wants – “if I get out of her house” – a wish he had, but not in his way. He wants to “japa” out of Nigeria to stay with his sister, Lara.

However, a day he would never forget in his life eventually comes. The memory of him suddenly vanishes in his family, friends, and everyone he knows, except a local bread seller who lives on the opposite side of life, and can barely weave two words together in correct English. She speaks Egun-accented Yoruba. With nobody and nowhere else to turn to, Sunmi is forced to abandon the life he knew – wealth, luxury, extravagance, licentiousness for a fresh life in the “trenches”.

Screenplay

Breaded Life’s screenplay is nearly perfect, employing a simple linear story-telling technique to introduce an intriguing premise into this overused plot and then a rarely anticipated twist. The plot’s set up with a mixture of feel-good, comedy, and drama tone, creating a conflict of two lives side-by-side with a romantic feel. Even when it launches us into its inciting incident when Sunmi’s memory suddenly vanishes from people’s memory and as he struggles with life in an unusual environment, it doesn’t lose its feel and tone. I guess that’s one of the reasons the social media comedians were cast into the movie, though they overstayed their welcome on the screentime at some points, with too long or unnecessarily dragged scenes.

Although you can barely find a recallable line to root for, the screenplay manages to retain the attention of its audience, using the conflicting desires of two characters to create drama or/and comedy – the ever-heated argument between Sunmi and his mom, the situational comedy created with the drama between Sunmi and Todowede. One that clearly stands out is the scene at the police station, inside the DPO’s office – Sunmi screams begging to know if anyone else could hear the beeping sound he hears. He struggles with the police officers ordered by the DPO to take him back to his cell, begging to confirm they could also hear the sound, “can you guys hear the sound…wait, wait, you can’t hear the sound?”. After getting no positive response, he burst out helplessly, “Okay I’m mad then, take me away”.

Also worthy of note is how the screenplay misses the chance to creatively ‘show and not tell’ with Sunmi’s pictures disappearing from the family photo album. This should have been set up with the audience seeing his picture, once or twice at the beginning of the first half of the film story. Not to also forget that the screenplay gave us an invisible fiery dog.

 

Character and Characterization

The characteriza樂威壯
tion casting of this movie should score five over ten. The major characters are loaded with clear goals and desires they pursue from the get-go. Sunmi, our major character wants to be left alone by his mom to live the kind of life he wants. Sunmi’s mom wants to see her only son live a responsible life. Todowede wants to help Sunmi settle in the trenches. Sunmi’s evolvement is enjoyable and well done, even though the twist might want to take away the joy of the process of his transition. Todowede’s character is not just a sidekick to Sunmi

There are however a couple of insignificant characters that deduct from Breaded Life’s point. Characters are created from just the brands of the internet comedians just to create a couple of detached comedies.

The casting will also score half, for the major characters – Sunmi played by Timini Egbuson was superbly done. His performance alongside Bimbo Ademoye who particularized her role like a witch is explosive. If there was ever any doubt about her versatility, she buried it in this movie with her fluent and fluid delivery of Todowede, an Egun bread-hawker who is struggling through life in the trenches.

Tina Mba needed no further adulation for her delivery of Sunmi’s mom. She eats this kind of role for snacks. Bisola Aiyeola also gave a striking performance. Lateef Adedimeji, though struggled at some point switching both accents and internalizing his character from an Abeokuta man to Ibadan to Lagos. He however interprets well the character of an illiterate money miss-road bakery entrepreneur.

Cinematography

The cinematography of this film manned by Dickson Godwin and Emmanuel Igbekele delivers brilliantly on pictures, but not that ambitious with shots and anglings – just basics.

Directorial Prowess/Production Design/Post-production

Biodun Stephen sets up an entertaining visual depiction of two sides of Lagos life with her characterization, sets and locations, costumes, and dialogues.  I don’t know who takes this glory, either the director or the actor improvised – the play on “achilles”. After Sunmi had complained to Todowede about feeling pains all over his body including his achilles interpreted as “akile” in a previous scene, Todowede falls sick and subconsciously refers to her achilles as “akile”, again. That level of attention to details is commendable.

 

Lesson Learnt

Breaded Life employs humour, and drama to teach some life lessons that are worth taking a deep sigh on. What if everything you have now is taken away from you and you have to start again? It makes you think about facing some harsh realities of life, no one, no matter their class will ever escape from – DEATH. Sometimes, help can come from the most unlikely places and people who at that point in time, will be your family.

Conclusion

Forget about the clichés, the insignificant clowns, this is an interesting watch with thoughtful life lessons. The premise is also very creative, considering the plot is overused.

 

Verdict

This movie earns a 60/100 for repping quality. Cheers!

Shoots.ng’s Score Guard

Every Item is 10 marks and 100% in all.

71- 100%= you are the bomb, be ready for Oscar

51-70%= thank you for repping quality

31- 50%= you can do better, up your game

11-30%= Return to film school

01- 10%= Filming is not for you, look for another job

 

Picture credits- @breadedlifemovie on IG