By Kikelomo ONIGBANJO
There is something about Gingerrr that feels like an old-school early 2000s Nollywood home video. The dramatic tension, chaotic storytelling, random spiritual symbolism, and exaggerated characters all carry that familiar energy. The movie had promise, but sadly, it struggled under the weight of its own confusion.
The story follows Omotolani, whose father was a deadbeat in many ways, yet deeply loved and cared for her mother. His source of wealth was suspicious, but the film never properly explains what exactly he did for a living. In fact, the movie avoids clarity in almost every important area. After his sudden death, the mysterious gold he left behind becomes the center of greed, betrayal, and multiple deaths involving his legal wife, child, and several shady characters all fighting for a share of was never truly theirs.
One of the biggest problems with Gingerrr is its scattered storytelling. Characters appear out of nowhere without proper introductions or explanations, making it difficult to connect emotionally with anyone. The story keeps jumping around as though scenes are missing. At some point, it feels like everybody is simply shouting, threatening, dying, or chasing gold without direction.
Then there were the strange symbolic objects constantly pushed into viewers’ faces: fowl without feathers, palm oil, raw yam, spotless eggs. The movie treated them as though they carried a deep meaning, but they added absolutely nothing to the plot. Instead of building suspense, they became distracting props repeatedly shoved down the audience’s throat. Just a profound nonsense they kept emphasizing on like it carried weight.
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Still, the movie had a few bright spots.
Odunlade Adekola delivered one of the most entertaining performances in the film. His character was unpredictable in the best way possible. One minute he looked calm and sympathetic, the next minute he was completely psychotic with guns blazing. That instability made him interesting to watch. Lateef Adedimeji also shines as the sidekick. He never goes wrong for whatever you cast him as.
And that line; “He was buried faster than a trending Twitter hashtag” was brilliant. Sharp, funny, and very memorable. Was there any need to turn Wunmi Toriola from an ugly duckling to a swan to seduce Timini? Timini o! Why bother? Wear a boubou and shake your bumbum in front of him. He will fall.
Shaffy Bello and Timini surprisingly had good chemistry together. This is not their first time playing mother and son though. Their scenes carried more emotional tension than some of the central relationships in the movie. Ironically, the so-called “Gingerrr Girls,” whose friendship was supposed to represent strong sisterhood and loyalty through changing circumstances, lacked chemistry completely. Their bond never felt believable. I don’t understand what Wunmi Toriola was doing half of the time. The only person whose acting I can rate a bit was Kiekie. Even Bisola goofed. Bolaji… I don’t know… just do face like spoilt fufu. And they wanted to win an AMVCA with this thing they did… as how na?
The acting overall was underwhelming, but one refreshing surprise was fresh faced Mayor Frosh. The former Big Brother housemate brought youthful energy and screen presence to the film as the younger Makinwa, the deadbeat father. Even when the story was falling apart, he remained interesting to watch. I also love Blossom Chukwujekwu here as the Bible quoting Jesus baby crime lord. But his acting looked like it was for another movie, not this one.
Gingerrr tries to combine family drama, greed, friendship, crime, and spiritual mystery into one film, but the result is messy and confusing. Still, beneath all the chaos, there are moments that hint at what the movie could have been with better structure and tighter storytelling.
3 stars
