Basket Mouth

Basket Mouth

Originally uploaded by NollywoodForever

Basket Mouth

Story/ Screenplay – Bob Emmanuel Anosike

Director – Stanley Williams Inyang

Starring:

John Okafor – Ukami

Moses Armstrong – Big Fredo

Mona Lisa Chinda – Sylvia

Felix Noah – Bob

Jane Ugbe – Mama

McDonald Oti – Simon

Aisha Balogun – Princess

Clems Onyeka – Jude

Jennifer Uzom – Lucy

Justina Robert – Madame Sige

Nora Ugo – Cynthia

Themes Explored:

Greed in Nigerian Comedy

Materialism in Nigerian Comedy

“Saving Face” in Nigeria

My Rating: 72%

Fred has delusions of grandeur and has taken to calling himself “Big Fredo.” The only thing big about Fred are his lies. Fredo uses a story about having come from the city and having a container lost on the high seas to seduce many many girls in the village. He promises them that when his container arrives he will bath them in riches and amazingly they pretty much all fall for it.

Although it is a comedy there are some serious underlying themes. The main ones being greed, materialism and “saving face.” The whole reason Big Fredo comes out with the elaborate story that he is a rich businessman from the city is to “save face” to his family and friends. He knows how the people in his community operate and that for him to come back to the village without material wealth he would be seen as a failure. It is for this reason that he invents the stories that he does.

He knows that the girls that he meets would not pay any attention to him without him pretending to be rich, and so sees telling lies as the only way to create the person that he wants to be. We see that the girls do in fact only talk to men that they believe to be rich, even when evidence on the contrary presence itself. Big Fredo takes one girl out and can only afford Fanta to drink and no food but despite this it is the fact that he keeps on telling her that she will soon be showered with riches that keeps her hanging on.

This one is a comedy and is full of laughs. It teaches us to associate ourselves with people due to the content of character rather than what they own. I’d recommend it!