EbonyLife Films present Zainab Balogun (Opeoluwa), Akah Nnani (Tobem), Bucci Franklin (Sunny), Charles Inojie (Michael), Deyemi Okanlawon (Martin), Elijah Braik (Alain Belrose), Rachel Oniga (Rose Adeniyi) Emmanuel Ilemobayo (Musa), Ini Dima-Okojie (Joyce), Jide Kosoko (Segun Adeniyi), Joke Silva (Agustina), Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoji (Chika), Kenneth Okoli (Deji), Philip Roche (Charles), Olu Jacobs (Richard). Director of Photography, Trevor Brown; Editor, Michael Becker; Story by, Mo Abudu, Genevieve Nnaji; Screenplay by, Nicole Brown, Debo Oluwatuninu, Olayinka Ogun; Producers, Precilla Nwanah, Temidayo Abudu; Executive Producer, Mo Abudu; Director, Ishaya Bako. © 2017
When Ope (Zainab Balogun) bumps into Deji (Kenneth Okoli) at the airport in London, it was the way nature plays games with their fortunes. It happens that both have the same want, the same hope, and the same desire, and it will be only a matter of time when those hopes, attractions, and wishes could become manifest. Not at the airport of their embarkation; their destinies will collide in a strange way, in the equatorial jungle of Nigeria.
The Western World of London, ridicule Ope’s idea of a new form of African cuisine she dreams of and finds out that she can make it better in her home country of Nigeria, where she could be appreciated, and where her father owns The Royal Hibiscus Hotel. She can be a great cook in the establishment. Deji is a real estate developer, whose contact, Martin (Deyemi Okanlawon), had started a negotiation to buy the Royal Hibiscus Hotel, based solely on promises. Martin is desperate for the deal to go through. He wants his commission.
I admire the screenwriters here very much by managing the two plots and intermittently dishing out the story piece by piece to us as the story progresses. Segun and Rose are in bed when he complains about his daughter getting too close to the gentleman lodging at the hotel. He warns that she should look before she leaps, which Rose summarily dismisses. “Let her have good time with him.” Segun, on a serious note, discloses to her that the said gentleman hanging with her daughter is negotiating to buy the hotel. She goes ballistic at first. “You are selling her birthright to him and even pimping her to him,” she yells at her husband. Her greatest fear is Ope will run back to London, when she hears about the deal, and she hates that.
When Segun tells his wife Rose the asking amount for the Hotel, “350 million Naira! “You mean 350 Million Naira?” Rose jumps back into bed by her husband. “My God, we are in the money.” Rose whistles, the kind we do to express an overexcitement and unbelievability. “What about Ope?” Segun asks Rose. “Don’t worry; I will take care of that. Segun, you know what? we are going to plan on how to use this money carefully together.”
Rose knows about the deal already, and she’s reveling and looking forward to the massive windfall from her sweat and blood, but they have one problem. Someone has to tell Ope about the buyout. Who will? It happens by accident. Segun, Martin, and Deji have signed the papers for the property overnight, and in the morning, just when Deji and Ope are having breakfast in the lobby, Martin presents the document of the buyout to Ope to sign. Martin lets the cat out of the bag, to the embarrassment of Deji. He appeases himself with a slap to Martin’s jaw. Ope was counting on the blossoming relationship between her and Deji. But it was all fake, and matter of fact, Deji only wanted to buy the hotel, hence, he was rubbing on her.
On her way out of the hotel, back to London, she dunks the hotel sales document file on Deji’s chest and hops in the jeep, leaving him standing there wallowing in self-guilt and disappointment. Ope packs her luggage and goes back to London and continues her work in the restaurant. But we will see if Deji will take it lying down. No, he won’t; he couldn’t, because the kitchen cook, cum hotel owner, had got under his skin.
Almost to closing time in the London restaurant where Ope returns, Deji comes there with a bouquet under his arm and a brown envelope. Ope didn’t want to receive him but he asks for her forgiveness and the way things happened. She too had some leftover romance for this gorgeous young tycoon. She accepts the flower and the letter which she opened immediately after Deji leaves and finds that Deji bought The Royal Hibiscus Hotel in her name. A tear-jerking scene if you saw it. Both Deji and Ope make literal vows resembling, ‘can you be my wife,’ right there.’ The movie hurries to run the end credits before anything goes wrong. We do imagine they got married
Genevieve Nnaji’s story idea has the aroma of Lionheart. Screenwriters, Nicol Brown, Debo Oluwatuminu, and Olayinka Ogun did achieve the level of ambition in The Royal Hibiscus Hotel. Deji wants to buy the Hotel, which he did but also gets a bonus profit by marrying Ope, the woman of his dream. Adeniyi and his wife Rose had no clue how to refurbish Hibiscus Hotel. Segun Adeniyi and Rose got to drinking too much while the estate falls into disuse. They had not a brass copper to their names. In earnest, they are ready for retirement but stubbornly pretended as if holding on to their blood and suffering, could be the best to do. Genevieve was smart in Lionheart when she brought in Northern investors. Deji saved them when he came along, and pay them a whopping 350 million Naira, with witch they gloriously retire. Moreover, the hotel by virtue of Deji’s marrying Ope stays in the family. Nice plot twist.
Ope too walks into the Hotel as the sole owner. Deji rejuvenates The Royal Hibiscus Hotel for Ope and installs a state of the art kitchen where she can conjure up out of this world African cuisine, as long as Deji stands by her in the kitchen. All principal players win; no victim. I must not however overlook the cameo appearance of the cook at the open sky-high restaurant, who shakes Deji’s hand and waves hello to Ope, in the next frame, no-cook in the after frame. What is the story’s significance for her? Besides, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel is a cute little story to boot.
AUTHOR’S AFTERWARD
I happen to be in town for the church wedding between Deji and Ope. It was pomp and pageantry. Three state governors: Edo State, Godwin Obaseki; Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwanyi, were at the high table in the coliseum, for the church couldn’t hold the guests. Politicians of both high and low calibers and high society dignitaries were all present. Television stations throughout the city and state suspended two hours of their routine programs for Ope and Deji’s wedding. You should see Rose Adeniyi, in her fashionable Valentino gown, romping and frolicking in the arms of Segun Adeniyi. Oh, ya, Segun still has to wear the old grey suit that he loves so much. “They have to conserve,” Rose’s bromide.