A Naija Christmas

The story has a lovely premise.

But if you're gonna tell a Nigerian story, at least tell it in a Nigerian way.

I couldn't help but notice the undertones of Western culture (and yes, a lot of Nigerian modern lifestyle is influenced by the West,) but to go so far as even patterning the dialogue after Western culture, that's too far.

The breakups and the relationship dynamics broke my last straw.

I love this movie, but as an ardent observer of Western cinema, it feels like a copy.

Whether it is a Nigerian copy of a Western story, or a Western copy of a Nigerian story, sometimes I just can't tell.

I finally watched this movie and had high hopes as a West African because I believe the characters in our family are just hilarious and it would be fun to see the dynamics on screen. I really enjoyed this movie. Very lighthearted, funny and romantic. Although a mean character , Linda Osifo was also very pretty. I hope to see more West African films on Netflix to highlight that we are more than what is usually shown on tv and we have unique family dynamics. I would definitely recommend this film to watch during Christmas and there were many funny relatable moments especially for those of us from W. Africa <3.

So many Christmas romantic comedies are told more from the woman's perspective but this one is told from the male perspective. I've never watched a movie set in Nigeria before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was also different in that there were three stories told (though more focus was on two of them), one for each of the three brothers. I don't know anything about Nigerian culture, so I don't know how accurate the portrayal was, but the familial tension and church politics seemed familiar, something I think one would see in all cultures.

I would like to see more Nigerian content, based on what I saw in this movie.

A Naija Christmas As with almost any new high budget Nigerian movie, it aims for comedic relief and heavily lies in tropes. A fairly straightforward plot that delivers nothing new, save being the first Nigerian Christmas themed movie. Because of the heavy reliance on comedic elements, the plot isn't allowed to develop to have darker moments as such moments were snuffed out (a little letdown.) The casting was sweet. Seeing many familiar faces from YouTube series getting a shot into the spotlight was thrilling! (Segilola ogidan, Ade laoye & Abayomi Alvin.) Mercy Johnson finally gets a new nollywood movie where she can shine appropriately (Seven and a half dates & the ghost and the tout too, she can finally be forgiven for those travesties.)

The plot was pretty straightforward, we could guess the end from the beginning; it was a feel-good watch

DELICIOUS

---A beautifully selected cast😃 Linda Osifo, Segilola Ogidan, and Ade Laoye brought a fresh look to the film.

Carol King was elegantly stunning and the rest of the cast worked hard to deliver a natural and genuine performance

--- A Naija Christmas sent a nice signal to parents that certain norms have to change when it comes to marriage: "it's not by force😆"

---The director of photography and the color grading team produced quality images that blended with the festive mood of the film

---The art director transported us into each actor's universe with a detailed decor

BLAND

---Screenplay was ok, apart from the little twists, there wasn't anything too gripping. The lines were rather cheesier than comic

---When you have a big celebrity like Mercy Johnson-Okojie, you expect her to have a significant role, which wasn't the case. Hence, we started wondering why a regular actress couldn't have played her role.

Rachel Oniga's absence in major parts of the film weakened the storytelling

---Overall, Naija Christmas appeared more like an American Christmas movie mostly due to the Christmasy score and flimsy scene sequences.