Hire a woman is a Nigerian Netflix Dramedy film. The plot centres around a shy guy, Jide, who, years after university, is still hung up over his ex, Toyosi. His best friend, Nat, invited him on a group trip to celebrate his engagement with his fiancé. Jide receives the invite at work with his two best friends, Teni and Zainab. He tells them he’s just going to make up an excuse to avoid going. The two girls are confused about why he’d want to miss out on a trip to celebrate his best friend’s engagement. He then explains that Toyosi will be on the trip and explains the circumstances of their breakup.
Teni and Zainab were appalled by this information, realizing that she had just used him the entire time they were together to boost her grades. They vow to devise a plan that will enable Jide to go for the trip while getting back at Toyosi. Per the title, the plan is to hire a woman to be Jide’s pretend girlfriend, give him a makeover, and coach him on being less dopey and more macho and confident. They settle for Teni as the woman for hire after Jide refuses to pay someone to be his girlfriend and fails the coaching terribly.
They transform his style, cadence and demeanour before the trip. With Teni present to guide him, it was assumed things would go as planned. Obviously, things do not go as planned. Jide’s hard demeanour immediately crumbles anytime he is in the presence of Toyosi. He still drools over her and falls for her tricks and traps to show dominance over Teni. Throughout the trip, Jide and Teni fight a lot because of his general lack of self-love and the tough spots he keeps putting her in.
What’s not expected that occurs is Jide and Nifemi, Toyosi’s best friend, falling for each other. After a fight with Teni that got him kicked off the bed. Jide wanders to the living room, encountering a restless Teni sitting alone. They end up talking through the night, then falling asleep with their heads resting against one another. Their liking for each other intensifies with each subsequent interaction. However, Jide might end up fucking it up for good because of his lack of self-worth when it comes to Toyosi.
The plot is interesting; it makes for great drama and laughter. It’s a fun plot that can draw and maintain the attention of most. However, the execution was not up to par. The cinematography was incredibly disappointing. I could see the attempts to make certain shots full of life, such as the follow-through shot of Teni walking through the office corridors at the beginning. However, the shot was done poorly; the camera was shaking throughout. The shot looked like it had no editing done to make it feel more conceptual.
The sound quality was equally awful. Most times, the speech sounded like the mic was picking it up from some secret place inside their bags or clothes and like we were not meant to be hearing the dialogue. I couldn’t understand it. It sounded like no touch-ups, editing, or noise cancellation was done. It felt like something thrown together and not intentionally made for quality entertainment. I cannot understand why.
Overall, it just seems like there wasn’t much effort put into ensuring the quality of the movie. Feels like something done as a joke or for fun among friends. I think there should be alot more consideration and care put into whatever movie the production studio makes next. The acting was not bad. Teni, Toyosi, Nifemi, Emeka and Jide put the most effort into their acting. I could see they were doing their best to play their roles appropriately while not overdoing it.
Overall, I’d give this movie a 4/10. The storyline had a lot of potentials and was very enticing. The effort of the actors to bring their characters to life shows, however, the quality and technical inadequacies need to be addressed.
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