It is hard to point at the last time we saw Aki and Paw-Paw as a duo in a film. Such is the transcendence and sense of permanence they had on a particular period in Nollywood that they seemed timeless, and as such it is difficult to remember the exact time they stopped being Aki and Paw-Paw and went back to being Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme. But it was undoubtedly a long time ago, and Play Network opted to end that spell of absence with a 2021 feature centering on the pair.
Aptly titled “Aki and Paw-Paw”, this movie is Biodun Stephen’s third directorial cinematic release and it comes less than two months after Anthill’s “Progressive Tailors Club”. Aside our beloved duo, this movie also features Chioma Okafor, Uti Nwachukwu, Toyin Abraham, Beverly Osu and Anita Asuoha aka Dat Warri Pikin.
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The question regarding the notion of the “Aki and Paw-Paw” remake is whether or not it will fit in this era. Perhaps the time for it has passed, and maybe Play Network were mistaking the “memeability” of Osita Iheme as evidence that the duo might hold up in 2021.
But the way ‘Aki and Paw-Paw’ deals with that issue is a flaw in itself, by seeming to do away with it. Make no mistake, this movie does employ some of the mannerisms and signature tropes that made the duo so eternal – but much of the ones on display look old, trite and very much a fish out of water in 2021. The bigger issue, though, is how this movie does away with most of them. The irony of it is that ‘Aki and Paw-Paw’ the movie does not make the most of Aki and Paw-Paw the characters. This movie does not quite nail what made the pair so adorable, so identifiable and so beloved.
Yet, with this December, 2021, movie; that is not all. “Aki and Paw-Paw”, as a movie in itself, does not quite seem to recognise what it is about. The tone shifts from humour to melancholy, without any steadiness, depth or believability, and halfway through, pretty rips off its initial tone for something else. The way this movie creates conflict is so forced and insincere and is only matched by the way it resolves them.
This movie tries to put the main characters in some form of jeopardy, but while that jeopardy does not seem genuine because of the infusion of comedy, the comedy in itself lacks any kind of realness. And when this movie does opt for plain hard-eyed seriousness, it underuses the beloved pair and undermines the point of what makes them what they are, while taking the movie in an unexpected direction, going off course.
“Aki and Paw-Paw” wants to possess layers, and contain sub-plots, but it botches those too. The potential to touch on exploitation, the life of social media influencing, the throes of early stage fame, and the poisoned chalice of it, those elements look to be there. But the way they are done raises more questions than answers; if any answer.
For the acting, Chioma Okafor steals some limelight as Samantha; and her graduation from a beloved worker who gets exploited to a manager who exploits is interesting to see, if underwhelming in use. Meanwhile, Uti Nwachukwu does have some style and provides some form of entertainment as Panshak, even if it gets over the top and too much to bear at times.
But much of this film is sorely artificial. Scenes happen that do not resonate with what came before; jeopardy lacks genuineness, and comic attempts lack the needed humour. “Aki and Paw-Paw” is as incoherent as it is inconclusive, and once again, it raises more questions about Play Network and the direction they are headed.
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