In this romantic comedy on Netflix, the first son to find a wife inherits the family home. But that task is harder than it might appear.
With naughty nods made nice by a few twists, “A Naija Christmas” might seem to be an entertaining albeit middle-of-the-road holiday romantic comedy. Only that road cuts through Lagos, Nigeria.
As the Nigerian film industry’s first Christmas comedy since it became a Netflix partner, this romp about three brothers trying to make their mother’s holiday wish a reality is festive and illuminating. The director Kunle Afolayan teases most of the well-worn holiday movie tropes while treating viewers to Naija-flavored themes of class, gender and faith.
After a humiliating gathering where her women’s group reminds her of what she lacks, Mama (Rachel Oniga, who died earlier this year) has an arm-twisting proposal for her sons, one intended to nudge them toward marriage and eventually grandchildren. Whichever one of them secures a future wife by Christmas will inherit the family home.
This will be no small feat. The oldest son, Ugo (Kunle Remi), is a music producer and a romantic cad. He’s also in debt to a loan shark. Can Ajike (Segilola Ogidan), a nice church girl, alter his path to perdition? The middle son, Obi (Efa Iwara), a nerd, recently devised a too-public proposal to his girlfriend and boss, Vera (Linda Osifo). His jilting went viral. And the youngest son, Chike (Abayomi Alvin), is genuinely smitten with a down-low love interest, whom the comedy coyly teases with a slow reveal.
While her menfolk bumble, Mama and her status-conscious women friends prepare for the annual Christmas pageant. This one’s to be held in, as one member says with trepidation, “the ghetto.” Yes, elitism makes more than a cameo here — the movie’s reminder that some attitudes are never in the spirit of the season.
A Naija Christmas
Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 1 minute. Watch on Netflix.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
