MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Glamour Girls’ remake fails to live up the hype

The remake of ‘Glamour Girls‘, the 1994 Nollywood blockbuster, premiered on Netflix on June 24. The project was produced by PlayNetwork Studios in collaboration with Netflix. The movie, however, failed to live up to the hype.

By now, movie directors that remake classical movies should be fully aware that such a decision connotes walking on a block of thin ice as they can either deliver an excellent version to the viewers or ruin the entire movie plot.

After watching the ‘Glamour Girls’, it appears that the remake of the 1994 classic was far from the expectations of the viewers.

It was a total miss that came at an expensive cost with disjointed stories that have no meeting point rather leaving the viewers confused with many unanswered questions.

Synopsis

‘Glamour Girls’ follows the story of four girls desperately trying to live large in Lagos and how they deal with their relationships and problems. Within the usually patriarchal African community, they all dare to raise a stir with their profession as high-end escorts.

The strong point of the movie

The film used some of the best visual elements to grace the 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 an incoherent storyline, the actors gave their all to deliver an incredible performance.

The costume of the actresses was also on point. It was uniquely done to communicate the glamourous lifestyles of the cast, the film idea, and concepts. One may even be tempted to say all the funds sourced for the movie were spent on costume alone!

From the bossy and chic outfit given to Donna (Nṣe Ikepe-Etim), the costume worn by Jemma (Joselyn Dumas), and that of Emma (Sharon Ọja) which depicted her grass-to-grace plot twist; every outfit was a hit.

Also noteworthy was the film’s homage to the 1994 classic. During Donna’s search for assistance, she met Gloria Young and Dolly Unachukwu, 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.

The weak points of the movie

The remake focuses on four girls with Emma as the lead actress but the whole story is rushed and unfinished.

There are too many loose ends; it appears that the movie was produced in episodes and on a later thought trimmed to two hours and five minutes.

Editing took out the meat and bone of the story and left the viewers with almost nothing. There are no memorable dialogues from the cast or redeeming comedic quality to give the viewers a lasting taste of the movie.

The sound quality was also another problematic aspect of the film. The audio was simply repulsive. It was saddled with a lot of background noise giving the impression that they recorded the film with a phone.

Another major flaw of the ‘Glamour Girls’ remake was its disjointed plot. You will understand this better after watching the film. Every scene seemed to make no sense for some strange reason, there was hardly a connecting dot between them.

This film left most of the viewers with several unanswered questions. For instance, 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?

According to the plot, Emma was a rural girl who was trying to make money quickly so she could support her family. However, when she got everything she desired, we didn’t see her doing anything for her family or even an appearance in the family.

The remake left many movie lovers disappointed with so many unanswered questions.

Final Verdict 

Glamour Girls gets a 4/10.

TheCable Lifestyle earlier reported the reactions of several Nigerians to the project.