Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards
Directed byKayode Kasum
Written byOzioma Ogbaji
StarringNancy Isime
Jide Kene Achufusi
Mawuli Gavor
Sharon Ooja
Venita Akpofure
Koye Kekere-Ekun
Uzor Arukwe
Elvina Ibru
Toyin Abraham
Production
companies
FilmOne Entertainment
Empire Entertainment
Huahua Media
Release date
  • 4 December 2020 (2020-12-04)
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesNigeria
South Africa
China
LanguageEnglish
Box office₦20 million[1]

Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards—also simply known as Kambili—is a 2020 Nigerian romantic comedy film written by Ozioma Ogbaji, and directed by Kayode Kasum. It stars Nancy Isime and Jide Kene Achufusi in lead roles, and follows a young woman on her self-discovery journey after her quest to marry before she turns 30 fails. The theatrical release was on 4 December 2020, and opened to mixed reviews from critics.[2][3]

Plot

Kambili Maduka (Nancy Isime), a disorganised shopaholic, is suspended from her office job due to repeated lateness. Her troubles worsen when John (Mawuli Gavor), her boyfriend of two years, unceremoniously breaks up with her before her 29th birthday, stating she is unsuitable wife material. The news disheartens Kambili as she had hoped to marry before she turned 30, and falls into a deep depression. On a night out with her friends to celebrate her birthday, a downcast Kambili announces her plans to win John back by proving her maturity but discovers the landlord has ejected her due to outstanding rent when she returns to her apartment.

After spending the night at her newly-engaged bohemian mother Cynthia's (Elvina Ibru) house, Kambili stubbornly leaves for best friend Chidi's (Jideofor Kene Achufusi) apartment, to his girlfriend Linda's (Sharon Ooja) chagrin. Upon reflection, and firmly determined, Kambili holds a jumble sale and uses the takings to open an art gallery, with her supportive friends Chidi, Biodun (Venita Akpofure), and Jesse (Koye Kekere-Ekun) collaborating to transform her goal into success. It is during this period she reluctantly moves back in with Cynthia after Linda demands Kambili leaves Chidi's house, and gradually warms to Cynthia's toyboy fiancé Bankole (Uzor Arukwe), who offers valuable business advice.

John attends the gallery's launch and is impressed with Kambili's progress since their breakup. He asks her out for a drink, and despite having made plans with her friends who had supported her through the past months, she accepts his offer. The couple rekindle their relationship, and after Kambili drops several hints, John reluctantly proposes, but her friends refuse to share in her joy, accusing her of regularly taking them for granted and not showing support when Biodun and Jesse's relationship hit a rough patch. Meanwhile, Linda clashes with Chidi after it dawns on her that Kambili will always remain priority in Chidi's life, leading to the couple's split.

Kambili returns to work where she impresses her boss Jessica (Toyin Abraham) with her punctuality. However, her position is subsequently terminated as the gallery takes up most of her time, but not before Jessica commends her newly-discovered maturity and development, and Kambili decides to focus solely on her business. She also realises she will never meet John's impossibly high standards, and after breaking off their engagement she reconciles with her friends, including Chidi with whom she finally begins a relationship.

Cast

Production

The film was jointly produced by distribution company FilmOne Entertainment in association with South Africa's Empire Entertainment and China's Huahua Media.[4][5] The collaboration deal was successfully reached in December 2018.[6] It also marked FilmOne's maiden collaboration with South African and Chinese production companies.[7] However the film project was in development hell over a year and it was supposed to be the first production venture for FilmOne Entertainment with director Kayode Kasum.[8]

The entire cast and crew members who were hired to play their respective roles in the film were all reportedly below the age of 35. The colour green was depicted as the central theme throughout the filming.

Release

The film was initially slated for theatrical release on 12 June 2020 but it was later pushed back to September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.[9] The film producers officially announced the new release date as 16 October 2020 but it was postponed again due to the End SARS protests.[10] It was finally released on 4 December 2020.

Reception

A reviewer for Afrocritik scored the movie 5.9/10 saying "The major problem with Kambili is that half the time, it seems to forget it is a rom-com...Not only is the movie longer than it needs to be, but the time and effort dedicated to brewing the romance between Kambili and her eventual love interest are also grossly inadequate."[11]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref
2022 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards Best Actress in A Comedy Nancy Isime Nominated [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Top 20 Films Report 18th 20th December 2020".
  2. ↑ Custodian, Culture (2020-12-15). "Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards Is Another Cliche Romcom". The Culture Custodian (Est. 2014). Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  3. ↑ Nwogu, Precious 'Mamazeus' (2021-05-19). "Kayode Kasum's 'Kambili' is coming to Netflix". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  4. ↑ Vourlias, Christopher (2020-02-23). "Berlin: Nigeria's FilmOne Makes Global Push With China-South Africa Pact (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  5. ↑ "Here's the first teaser for Filmone's upcoming 'Kambili- The Whole 30 Yards'". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  6. ↑ "Meet Linda and Chidi in new 'KambIli: the whole 30 yards' teaser". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  7. ↑ "Kambili: Here's everything you need to know about Filmone's South Africa/ China collaboration". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  8. ↑ "Fun facts you need to know about 'Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards'". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  9. ↑ "'Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards' is coming to cinemas this September". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  10. ↑ "'Kambili' producers halt release amid #EndSARS protests". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  11. ↑ Nwajiaku, Vivian Nneka. "Movie Review - Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  12. ↑ "2022 Africa Magic Awards Nominees don land- See who dey list". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
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