“Meeting Funmi’s Parents”: Another Rom-Com that Doesn’t Cut It

My first thought upon watching Meeting Funmi’s Parents was, “Well, that wasn’t so bad.” But was it good?

If you love cute romantic comedies, perhaps you will enjoy the movie directed by Kevin Apaa but your mind will not be blown because it’s just like numerous romantic comedies you’ve seen before.

The Plot

Meeting Funmi’s Parents is about two lovebirds: Funmi, a Nigerian woman played by Omowunmi Dada, and Jason, a white US citizen (Roman Thompson), struggling for Funmi’s father’s (Akin Lewis) approval of their relationship. Funmi’s father prefers her ex, Ayo (Timini Egbuson), and wants her to leave Jason for him. The two men then wrestle for her attention.

It’s a pretty straightforward story, without anything spectacular. A similar story is Wedding Party 1, though the story was basic, the set, design, and acting carried the movie, but not much can be said about this particular movie.

Role Interpretation 

The movie’s highlight was Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, whose carriage and voice had so much grace. She plays the role of Funmi’s ailing grandmother, who is about to die of cancer, and their touching relationship is an enjoyable anecdote.

Roman Thompson also delivered in his role as a jealous and often angry boyfriend.

Some attempts at humour were made with Broda Shaggi (Samuel Perry) doing a meaningless cameo and Instagram influencer and comedian Sophy playing a housemaid, but both their jokes fell a bit flat.

Timini also seems to be playing the same role in every movie—the lover boy who makes a mistake and asks for forgiveness—and frankly, I was a bit bored with his performance.

Omowunmi is a pretty decent actress, and we have to hail her ability to cry on cue and convey deep emotions but her connection to Timini couldn’t be felt. We didn’t believe in their love story.

Production

The movie didn’t offer much location-wise. It felt like we were seeing the same six or seven locations. The wedding ceremony was below what you’d expect from people with rich parents. No live band or DJ? Can’t be Yoruba people.

There was also an issue with sound production, as we struggled to hear the actors over loud background noise on two occasions, but all in all, it had a fair production quality.

Finally, the movie’s ending didn’t make any sense as Funmi made a bombshell confession on her wedding day; it was quickly resolved, and the movie ended with “To be Continued.”

Verdict

The storyline of the Meeting Funmi’s Parents is simplistic but it failed to create any lasting impression and emotion in us. If the writers could not effectively end the movie, they should not put us through the torture of enduring a sequel.

Rating: 2/5