Nollywood films have continued to teach valuable life lessons over the years, and Netflix’s latest original film, Glamour Girls, is no exception. After watching the remake of the 1994 classic, it is safe to say that Play Network Studios should abandon the idea of remaking or rebooting 90s series or films.
Glamour Girls, as the title suggests, is a film about a group of escorts and how they deal with their relationships and problems.
Unlike other Netflix originals I’ve seen, I had little hope for this one because the trailer looked like something a first-year film student would make. However, I decided to give it a shot because it starred some of the industry’s top actors.
Confused and disappointed are two of the least accurate words to describe my feelings after watching Glamour Girls. The film was flat and uninteresting in every way. It felt like I was watching Chief Daddy 2 all over again, except this time the movie was about four ladies, it explored the theme of prostitution, and it was more boring.
The Tea (Plot)
In the first scene, we meet Emma (Sharon Ooja), a dancer accused of stealing a ring from a club client. Despite her pleas not to steal it, a bodyguard named Zeribe (James Gardiner) discovers the ring on her, and her boss fires her.
Desperate, she and two other friends visit the establishment of Donna (Nse Ikpe-Etim), a woman well known for providing escorts to some of the country’s wealthiest men. Donna is immediately irritated by the three ladies’ appearance and unrefined mannerisms and asks them to leave. While the other girls storm out, Emma remains, pitching herself as a worthy candidate for the job.
The narrative quickly shifts to the ladies who work for Donna. We meet Louise (Toke Makinwa), a beautiful escort who has a husband in America to whom she sends money regularly, Helion (Segilola Ogidan), a drug addict from a spoiled family, and Jemma (Joselyn Dumas), a former escort who found love but is returning to the business due to financial difficulties.
Donna asks Emma to sleep with her husband to determine if she is the right girl for her establishment. Emma joins the group and attends her first party/job after impressing Donna. Sadly, the other escorts are paired up with men at the party, leaving Emma alone.
She meets Zeribe while brooding at the bar, revealing that he framed her. As a proper apology, he introduces her to his boss, who initially dismisses Emma’s existence but eventually comes to like her. Emma’s life changes dramatically after the party when she is exposed to a lavish lifestyle thanks to Segun (Femi Branch).
Louise receives shocking news about her husband’s unexpected arrival in Nigeria. It causes several problems as she tries to conceal her prostitution. Unfortunately, he caught her with another man at her boutique store one night and decided to flee the country with their children.
When Helion’s drug use appears out of control, especially after announcing her pregnancy, the girls become concerned. Despite Donna’s repeated warnings, Helion continues using drugs, leading to a fatal overdose.
Emma’s situation quickly disintegrates after being visited by Segun’s daughter publicly humiliates her. When she reports this to Segun, he reduces her even more, leading her to seek refuge in the arms of Zeribe.
While the other ladies were dealing with various issues, Jemma was living a happy life with her boyfriend, Alexander, until she discovered the inhumane thing he did to her child. It drove her to murder him, and she enlisted the help of Donna and Tj (Taymesan Emmanuel) to cover it up.
Alexander’s death quickly becomes a big deal when it is revealed that he is an accountant in charge of money belonging to some powerful men in the country. Because Jemma was romantically involved with Alexander, the men believe she and Donna are to blame for his disappearance.
To avoid being killed, the ladies searched for the money’s flash drive and planned exchange with the men. Zeribe, assisting them at the venue, decided to double-cross them and blame everything on Emma. Emma planted the flash drive on him, accused him of stealing it and failed.
The film concludes with the revelation that Donna secretly duplicated the flash drive, which contained some of the money.
The Good
The film featured some of the best visual elements to grace Nigerian television screens. The cinematography was excellent, with the locations and camera movements carefully chosen.
There was also an outstanding performance from the cast, particularly Nse Ikpe-Etim. Despite being given a lifeless script, the actors gave their all to deliver an incredible performance.
Also noteworthy was the film’s homage to the 1992 classic. During Donna’s search for assistance, we see her meet two of the original Glamour Girls. The producers did an excellent job including this because it gave old viewers a sense of nostalgia while also introducing new viewers to some of television’s most iconic characters.
Finally, kudos to the costumes and design department for the glamorous wardrobe and expensive sets that genuinely reflected the film’s idea and concept.
The bad
Listing the negative aspects of this film would require ten pages. To avoid using the word “terrible,” about 80 per cent of this film is “bad.”
Incoherent plot: If you find the above story confusing, you will understand how watching the film felt. Every scene seemed to make no sense for some strange but apparent reasons. This film left me with several unanswered questions: How did Donna come to have a third hard drive? How did Emma go through a major character transformation in six months? Why did Donna seek assistance from the woman who despised her guts? Why did Zeribe betray Emma when they appeared to be in love? How did Jemma and Donna resolve their initial disagreements? So many questions, so few answers.
Unprofessional scripting: Writing a script isn’t easy, so props to the scriptwriters for putting in the effort. The screenplay was nothing to write about, as it was cliche, bland, and lacked the makings of a blockbuster. The dialogue between characters felt off and forced, making a large portion of the film difficult to watch.
Poor Line Delivery: While some actors gave excellent performances, others were forgettable. This makes me question the casting directors’ and producers’ decisions.
The sound quality was the most problematic aspect of the film for me. The audio was simply repulsive. It was almost as if every crew member had forgotten to pay close attention to the audio quality, giving the impression that they recorded the film with a phone.
Unnecessary background music: What is it with Nollywood films and distracting background music? Please, producers, music in the background frequ‘‘It felt like I was watching Chief Daddy 2 all over again, except this time the movie was about four ladies.’’ently distracts viewers like me from what the characters say. So either reduce it or eliminate it.
Final Verdict
We would give this a 4/10 based on the efforts of the cast and crew. There was so much more the producers could have done with the film because it has such a solid and intriguing concept.
Glamour Girls is now streaming on Netflix.
