By Ajibare Abioye
“My Mother-in-law” was produced from the stables of the Mount Zion Film Productions. It was released on YouTube on Sunday, April 5, 2020, on Damilola Mike-Bamiloye’s channel. The 76-minute movie was written by Evangelist Gloria Bamiloye and directed by Damilola Mike-Bamiloye.
“My Mother-in-law” tells the story of Lola, who is about to get married to Tife, but has issues with her mother-in-law-to-be, and this sparks conflict when she eventually gets married to him. The focus is clear from the beginning; it’s a story addressing families and we usually get one or two of those every year from Gloria Bamiloye.
Lola is the main character here, played by Oguma Matha. I think this is her first feature in a Mount Zion movie and she excelled in it. She delivered her lines well and her mannerisms made her character believable. In the movie, Lola’s actions and inactions are driven the popular belief that African mothers-in-law are evil.
Lola is an archetype of many African single ladies. One thing that struck me about her character is that even though her friend, Sumbo, gives her the sound counsel that would make her home peaceful, Lola cannot really receive it because she views everything through her fear-tainted glasses. This is so much that she begins to regard the truth that can change her life, God’s Word, as philosophies. That’s how bad that wrong mindset had eaten deep into her being. The great thing about this movie is that though it seems targeted at wives and wives-to-be at first, it also portrays the truth that mothers-in-law, husbands and fathers-in-law need to know and live by.
The movie addresses this and uses every weapon in its arsenal to do it. In the first scene, we hear ‘Hello Sister’ by Jay-Mikee playing in the background. That’s a song that shows the nexus between one’s relationship with God and the choice of a good spouse. Then, the dialogue; there is a lot of exposition in this movie and so, it’s heavily dependent on dialogue. For me, the deep things shared in this movie are like five individual sermons. The movie testifies to this itself as Lola, at one time, tells Sumbo: “thanks for the sermon”. In this regard, I must commend the smooth delivery of lines by Evangelist Yemi Adepoju, especially at the end where he discusses the blessings of God’s covenant for the family.
“My Mother-in-law” also exposes the fear that some mothers have of ‘fake sisters’, but is quick to let us see that we should not let that fear drive us into sin. There’s no need to sexually ‘check out’ a lady before you get married to her.
Tife, played by Olumide Oki, delivers a line that I think is profound: “This is not a matter of prayer, but obedience.” This is not to say that prayers are not important, but after the place of prayer has been satisfied, the requirements of obedience must also be met. Take Sumbo for example; when her mother-in-law to-be rejects her, she goes to God in prayers and God inspires an idea for a solution in her. She obeys and the matter is resolved. Sumbo, played by Okitikpi Moyowa, delivers an excellent performance in a dining room scene to portray just how much she’d won over her mother-in-law. She is symbol of hope to single ladies out there for what a happy home and in-law relationship can be.
Some areas of the plot structure though, raised several questions in my mind. There were a few gaps that might have been better filled by the movie itself for a smoother watching experience, rather than we the audience doing it. For example, Sumbo asks Gbade, her fiancé, about Lola’s whereabouts; why? Couldn’t she have called Sumbo herself? Also, though the movie had the chance to tell us how close Tife’s and Lola’s wedding is on two occasions, they still only say ‘few months’. Knowing how many months the wedding was would have helped us in understanding the timeline of the movie’s events better. Lola had wanted Sumbo to be her best lady, yet, she only started considering it ‘few months’ to the wedding because Sumbo was now around. Where had Sumbo been? Why did she have to be around before Lola would consider her to be her best lady in this age when a call would give you all the information you need? What kind of friendship did they have that Sumbo had wedding in mind, in fact, just a month’s gap, and Lola would not know? Sumbo’s excuse was that Lola had not been around when her relationship with Gbade started; how soon did it start for the wedding to have been fixed? Was there no ‘introduction’? I know these questions have answers; I just think it would have better if those answers had been reflected in the movie itself.
Also, the subtitles had a few issues. Apart from some spelling errors, the subtitles were sometimes delayed in coming up on the screen. What’s more, some dialogue that the characters did not utter appeared as subtitles. I think problems like this can be avoided by proper and careful proofreading.
Ultimately, “My Mother-in-law” is a heart-warming, charming movie. I love the way this film ends; it gives you that good feeling that everything will be alright. The montage comprises cuts in action, with some slow motion, some dialogue, and was accompanied with a beautiful soundtrack by Jay-Mikee. The song itself is a message on its own; a message of love, not just in the family, but in the whole world.
So, what do you think about “My Mother-in-law”? What’s your most memorable scene in the movie? Put your thoughts in the comments section below.
To watch the review of the movie on my YouTube channel, click below:
https://youtu.be/RkSsLmNr3IY