PRODUCER: Ken Attoh, Yvonne Okoro, Shirley Frimpong-Manso

DIRECTOR: Shirely Frimpong-Manso

STORY: Herty Owusu

The movie “Contract” is a feel -good movie which is both entertaining and funny. Typical of most rom-coms or chick flicks it doesn’t have the most original story line and probably has adaptations in every continent under different names, but still it has the ability to occasionally make you go “oooo” and “awww”. It not only tells the story of a contract between a man and a woman, but also the story about a contract between the producers and Amarula cream (couldn’t resist taking a jab at the all-too -obvious product placement).  For an African movie of the comedic genre, it was able to achieve comedy without the overboard comical antics the industry is known for (although sometimes I was worried that they came very close). It was impressive to see a movie that gained laughs from a well-written script as opposed to a largely improvised one, hence the reason it might be forgiven some technical issues. The movie producers probably don’t require any more critical acclaim for the movie as they could be satisfied with the winnings from the recently concluded AMVCAs but we won’t be Homevida if we didn’t have an opinion.

The Cast: As a fine boy lover, Hlomla Dandala aka Mr Jacob’s Cross aka ‘Piper P’ was perfect; I didn’t even mind that he wasn’t too tall. His chemistry with Joseph Benjamins was quite good actually, a little more than his with the leading lady Yvonne Okoro. Not sure who was in awe of whose fame but it seemed like their chemistry struggled initially but soon caught on nicely. I liked the fact that the movie concentrated on only three main cast members, while supporting roles and cast remained supporting.

Story Development: I would commend this movie for sticking to the story plot without branching out.  Even though it was a good story, I feel like it started fast and slowed its pace from the middle. It should be the other way round unless slowing down is to build up to a big climax and that did not happen because we didn’t see the leading man and woman steal the scene in a heart-warming or heart wrenching resolve. The end was a bit flat line for me.

Editing and Continuity: The continuity from the beginning was brilliant.  Further in though it started to fall behind. Some scenes could have been substituted or shortened like the jogging scenes (and some other monologues), for longer shots of the couple, especially for instance, the first time he held her in his arms when she was crying. Girls dig stuff like that 😉 . Unless my audio was poor I can swear that sometimes they spoke in a dialect other than English. There should have been subtitles.

Say what you want but a movie is a good movie when you find yourself thinking about its leading man during the sermon the next day at church. On the contract between the movie makers and the audience, it would be mutually beneficial; they make money and you shall be entertained. Grab your copy now!

#Sidebar It’s a particularly good day to review the movie “Contract” as today is Shirley Frimpong-Manso’s birthday. Happy birthday Shirley from Homevida! Well done and Congratulations on your numerous awards!