"Dinner" buoyed by great acting

It's a star-studded movie which has its pre and post-release publicity on point."Dinner" stars Deyemi Okanlawon, Kehinde Bankole, Enyinna Nwigwe, Keira Hewatch, Okey Uzoeshi, RMD and Ireti Doyle.

"Dinner" tells the story of Mike Okafor (Okey Uzoeshi) who is invited by his childhood friend and buddy; Adetunde George Jnr (Enyinna Nwigwe) to have 'dinner,' and spend the weekend with him and his fiancée Lola Coker (Kehinde Bankole) as they plan for their upcoming wedding.

Mike decides to come along with his girlfriend Diane Bassey (Keira Hewatch), as he plans to propose to her. Things get out of hand when they arrive at Adetunde’s house and they get to find out secrets about each other’s relationship and the one person (Richy) in the middle of it all.

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There are things you can't take away from the movie; its entertaining story idea, great casting and acting, and bad dialogue.

"I would pick "Dinner" to "76," I heard someone say. "How is that even possible?" I asked. But then, I remembered that "A Trip to Jamaica" surpassed movies like "The CEO," "Arbitration" and "Oloibiri" to become the highest grossing movie of 2016.

"Dinner" is that Nollywood movie that is simple, easy and entertaining to watch. While it has subtle moral lessons here and there, it doesn't strive to be 'woke.' Deepness isn't its goal. It just wants to make you laugh and be entertained.

Every actor in the movie passionately interpret their roles. Deyemi is effortlessly Richie; a typical playboy who thinks every woman is a cheat. Uzoeshi is perfect as the aggrieved best friend and boyfriend. Kehinde Bankole is believable as the girlfriend with secrets. Enyinna doesn't disappoint as the host and friend with secrets. Hewatch brings the needed emotions for her character Diane. RMD and Ireti Doyle make an appearance and they were not bad.

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However, in a bid to fit in the happenings of three days into a one-hour plus movie, "Dinner" takes viewers through a long and sometimes unnecessary journey with quite a number of unnecessarily long scenes and conversations. The opening scene dragged forever - as a viewer, I felt like I had gone on the trip from the airport with Mike and Diana.

The scene where Diana recounted her experience with Richy was a long one we could have done without. Viewers were also treated to a one-sided flashback with that scene. Why did we never get to find out what transpired between Diana and Adetunde? The bar scene between Richy and Diana was cliche and dragged on for long. It became boring watching Richy spew lines that didn't fit his persona as an infamous 'player.' All his years as a player and he didn't learn magical lines?

There was nothing exceptional or engaging about the dialogue and conversations. It became boring to watch Lola repeat "we need to talk" and "but I called you and you wouldn't answer" over and over. The fight scene in the pool was a well-shot scene, but then, their cheesy, obvious and cliché lines was a turnoff for me. It could have been better.

Can we talk about the penultimate scene? That has to be the most predictable and unbelievable part of the movie. There was no need for the writer or director to appease viewers with their scene.

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"Dinner" however has a lot working in its favour. It has what it takes to become a box office success; fantastic cast, a little comedy here and there and a simple entertaining plot. But at the end of the day and year, it's not the best movie you will or have seen this year.

Jay Franklyn Jituboh does good with his first feature film and we look forward to a better sophomore outing.

Despite all of its faults, "Dinner" is an entertaining movie. If you want 'wokeness', just stay off. If you want an enjoyable, entertaining few hours, go see "Dinner."