What’s the rush about ‘Sugar Rush’?

Few weeks ago when news broke that a ban had been placed on the much anticipated movie “Sugar Rush” by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB),many became livid, nerves got frayed and reactions trailed the decision by the federal body to put the screening of the movie in abeyance.

With the cast made up of stars like Banky W, his wife Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Bisola Aiyeola, Bimbo Ademoye, Omoni Oboli, Mawuli Gavor and many others, film lovers had anticipated a full package of entertainment while neutrals could not help being swayed by the trailer.

The restriction was eventually removed and the rush and hype that greeted the film’s return to the cinemas nationwide left many who had not had the opportunity to see it ask why such rush about “Sugar Rush”.

The opinion of many is that corruption pervades many public and private institutions in Nigeria, with looting of funds seemingly the most pronounced. While anti-graft agencies apparently have their hands full of corrupt acts, there are those who still insist the agencies are not doing enough to suppress the alleged proliferation of such acts.

This may have informed the plot of “Sugar Rush” and set the tone for the events that made up the story. Apparently, it is the political concern of the film that critics have suggested in their castigation of the Federal Government for the ban despite the explanation by the NFVCB boss.

The film pointedly dragged in the mud the nation’s leading anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as questions were raised not only on the integrity of the commission but also the quality of some of their personnel which was typified by Uchemba Williams.

Several characters were not reserved in their lines which impugned the Nigerian system. In fact, a line from Uchemba Williams reads “…like the ones that promised us change have done anything.”

The assemblage of stars which comprised the crew could be said to be a marketing strategy. More so, Big Brother Nigeria (BBN) may start to lay claim to having a growing influence of the Nigerian populace with alumni of the reality TV establishing themselves as influencers across industries in Nigeria, particularly the entertainment industry.

The movie deserves credit for infusing jokes that resonate with the Nigerian populace like the ‘resurrecting’ slap Tobi Bakre got in order to reveal the location of the bag of dollars in his custody. The extensive humour of the film successfully tempered the seriousness of the socio-political issues that were addressed as Bisola Aiyeola, Bimbo Ademoye, Lateef Dimeji and Uchemba Williams might pass a comedy audition with their performance.

There is however room for improvement in the plausibility of some of the scenes. For instance, the deletion of the video file on EFCC computer, how EFCC officers ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room of suspects and the repetitive kidnap of the Sugar sistersseemed far-fetched.