Chief Daddy

CHIEF DADDY is 2018 nollywood star studded comedy featuring the likes of Richard Mofe Damijo, Joke Silva, Kate Henshawl, Funke Akindele Bello, Nkem Owoh, Patience Ozokwo, Rachael Oniga, Shaffy Bello, Linda Ejiofor, Broda Shaggi to mention a few. The comedy is an Ebony Life Film production directed by Niyi Akinmolayan about the funeral of a benevolent chief that was in fact a daddy, yeah everyone’s Daddy in the sense that daddy was a rolling stone. And when he died all his concubines and their kids started popping out.

He gave a chaotically impossible procedure for organizing the funeral yet instructing that it’s peacefulness would serve as a condition for the will to be read, which allocate the inheritance to the recipients. The fact that they all had to stay under the same roof to plan and carry out the funeral tends to give the impression of a reality shows where contestants are competing for the optimum prize.

As chaotic as the situation was, the daunting task of cooperating together to carry out the funeral became less daunting when the inherent corruption of some of the family members gave them the idea to improperly cash in on their individual roles (pad up the budget). Whether they each got the amount they wanted to carry out their roles, was left out but they got an incentive to make things work shortly before the funeral, when oddly someone from the lawyers’ office leaked the fact that they each stand to get a minimum of N50m.

The funeral however was not without a hitch as the current wife could not take it from the concubines and lost it at the funeral. However, the seemingly all-knowing chief already knew his family would not all come together to peacefully bury him. But despite all the brouhaha, the condition for the will to be read never hold, giving them more than they expected, even though the money tied to the company would materialize when the company goes public. I guess they were supposedly happy again even if we saw someone pulled to the gate of the house. I guess who this person is and what drama lies ahead, we will have to wait and see.

In retrospect while funeral is a controversial occasion in Nigeria the movie tried to make it comedic. The cadre of the actors was lost in the parts they played such that you will think they underperformed while in fact this is one script they shouldn’t have taken. It is like a soup with too many ingredients which no matter how closely you stick to the recipe, the soup cannot turn out well. I would think Femi portrayed a son that was well educated in Britain, but he sounded more like someone busy learning the Multicultural London English which is laced with Jamaican Patois. If he was tattered on his first appearance, one would have assumed that the chief had a son that was demented. The sound quality were good but not the best, conversations degenerated to noise. The picture quality was very good, thanks to the lighting, one would notice that Shoffa Donatus (Nkem Owoh) has a dark spot on the left side of his forehead. It is not a flaw but a symbol of excellent combination of lighting and picture.

Violence towards the less privileged was displayed at least twice to gatemen, if this a reflection of how those in some supposedly better positions generally treat gatemen in Nigeria, or is that form of comedic violence? Whichever the case is, it was of bad taste. Justina (Ihuoma Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman), I got confused when she eventually explained whom she was. Do the rich in Nigeria now adopt children in secret? As a man, how and why do you secretly adopt a child in fact a girl? Chief Daddy was really a weird human being.

On this note we will have to wait to find out, who the lady at the gate is, and what more drama would unfold in future?

Cast

Bisola Aiyeola as Chef Simbi

Dakore Egbuson-Akande as Remi Castle

Funke Akindele as Tinu Beecroft

Zainab Balogun as Ireti Beecroft

Kate Henshaw-Nuttal as Teni Beecroft

Shaffy Bello as Nike Wiiliams

Joke Silva as Lady Kay Beecroft

Falz as Femi Beecroft

Demi Banwo as Mr. Barnabas

Kayode Freeman as Dr. Bada

Ayo Lijadu as Prelate Malachi

Ihuoma Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman as Justina

Mawuli Gavor as Damilare Kofi Mensah

Chioma Omeruah as Chuchu

Ini Edo as Ekanem

Lepacious Bose as Madam Tasty

Richard Mofe-Damijo as Tega Castle

M.I. Abaga as Mr. X

Beverly Naya as Adaora

Chinedu Ani as Joro D

Taiwo Obileye as Chief Daddy

Rachel Oniga as Aunty Ajoke

Beverly Osu as Sandra Bello

Nkem Owoh as Shoffa Donatus

Patience Ozokwor as Madam Pat

Nicole Ofoegbu as Dame Esther

Uti Nwachukwu as Dare Edwards

Solomon Bryan as Kasali.