When I decided, I was going to watch the mini-series, SHE Must Be Obeyed showing on Amazon Prime, I didn’t know what to expect. I had seen the trailer and knew some of the cast from pre-release media rounds they did. Even though I thought it impressive that the cast was a blend of veterans and newbies, I was sort of indifferent to all the razzmatazz.
In the past, I had been crushed and terribly disappointed when I had high hopes for a movie or series based on the cast alone. I didn’t want that to happen to me again.
Then came 8 PM on Sunday evening and I was ready to give myself a threat because Nigeria turned 63 that day and I was in a quasi-celebratory mood. The celebration was necessary, not because confidence and pride in our present leadership is anything to write home about, but because I believe that a sense of national consciousness is essential in centring myself in my new identity as a diasporic Nigerian and also because of the many Nigerians all over the world and in different spheres and endeavours flying the green-white-green flag of our country high and doing all of us proud. The celebration was for them.
So, out came the snacks – popcorn and soda. I positioned myself in my favourite spot in the house – right in front of the television, dimmed the lights to simulate the ambience of a movie theatre, stretched out my legs on the couch and pressed the play button.
Again, I didn’t know what to expect, but boy, was I blown away! SHE Must Be Obeyed left me laughing really hard.
I thoroughly enjoyed the acting. It was indeed a delight seeing actors like Mike Ezuruonye and Patience Ozokwo still delivering stellar performances. Akah Anani and Ime Bishop Umoh were hilarious. Vee Iye and Waje were impressive. Rachel Okonkwo was believable. Lateef Adedimeji showed so much rage and versatility I could hardly believe it was the same person I saw in Jagun Jagun only a few weeks ago.
And of course, there was Funke Akindele. She played Siyanbola “SHE” Adewale. I liked that her portrayal contributes to the current conversation around talent management and the nature of contractual obligations in the creative space since the passing of the music artist known as Mohbad.
I binge-watched all 5 episodes and I would do it again.
What better way to have celebrated Nigerian independence than to have immersed myself in a Nollywood production that took me back to the no-frills era that that used to be Nigerian drama? SHE didn’t feel like mimicry to me at all. SHE is an authentic Nigerian story stripped of all that unnecessary Westernization corrupting our stories and storytelling.
Kudos. Funke Akindele and JJC Skillz deserve high scores for this one.
I’m going to watch this over the weekend and let you know what I think.