When I started this movie, I was in love with it. But when I got to the resolution, I was like
The Recap
Pokua stands on the side of the highway, looking for a vehicle to hitchhike. A car stops to give her a ride but leaves her behind when he finds out that friends (Baaba and Fella) were coming along as well.
After the car leaves, a bus stops in front of them, asking if they were going. They initially decline, but Baaba changes her mind, and the rest join her.
As they get off the bus, they share themselves, marketing their ushering business and giving out flyers to passersby. While Pokua is talking to a woman, she sees Mr. Sampah with a strange woman in his car and gets distracted.
She then goes to meet him, and they discuss after which she, Baaba and Fella go to his wife, Aunty Vero, to tell her the truth. Aunty Vero tells them that she gets information like that every day but without any proof.
Pokua, determined to help Aunty Vero, decides that they get Aunty Vero the proof she needs. Baaba and Fella are against it at first, but Fella gives in saying that it is worth trying out. Baaba not wanting to be the odd one out, agrees reluctantly.
The next day, they all gather at the same place where Pokua met Mr Sampah the day before, and are able to get a video recording of him kissing his mistress.
They go back to Aunty Vero with the evidence, and she weeps – shutting the door in their face. Baaba scolds them for butting into Aunty Vero’s business.
Aunty Vero comes out, handing them an envelope filled with money. She also thanks them and asks them to transfer the video into her phone. Mr. Sampah returns home but finds an empty house with a note and a phone with the video recording of him kissing his mistress.
Baaba, Fella, and Pokua counting the money Aunty Vero gave to them decide on their next move. Fella suggests that they split the money three ways, but Baaba disagrees. She suggests that they use the money to fund their ushering business. Pokua, on the other hand, says that she will have to think about their next move.
While at home, Pokua gets a call from a friend of Aunty Vero and asks for Pokua to help her catch her cheating husband. Pokua goes back to the girls and tells them that they could turn this into a business. Baaba finds it somewhat intriguing, but Fella feels that they’ve done enough. Finally, they all agree to do it, and they pick out the name “SideChic Gang”.
They get an office space with the proceeds of the money they got from Aunty Vero and furnish the place. On their first day, Mrs. Owoo, the friend to Aunty Vero comes to lay her complaint, and hire them for the job. She also offers them ten thousand Ghana cedis as a down payment and another ten thousand once the job is completed.
The women, with their new money, purchase a 1980s SUV and set out to catch Mr Owoo. They are able to catch him in bed with his mistress, and they take a photo of him.
After the success of their first job, Baaba’s boyfriend proposes to her which makes Fella take stock of her life, and break up with her much younger boyfriend.
When they arrive for work the next day, they meet a long line of women waiting for them. They interview the women one by one and are able to help them in some cases catch their husbands while in other cases, help them realise that their men were just obsessed with video games.
As they become more famous, Pokua starts to spend more hours at work sometimes coming back home by midnight – much, to the chagrin of her husband.
One night, Mr Sampah and Mr Owoo park in front of the SideChic Gang office promising to bring it down. Some days later, a man, Sefa walks into their office demanding for their service.
They refuse at first but change their minds when he offers to pay double whatever their current rate is. He tells them that his girlfriend is cheating and he needs proof to finally break himself free of her. He also demands an express job and for that reason, gives them a briefcase filled with money.
The women get to work immediately, but the woman in question, Agnes, proves to be more difficult than they anticipated. They call Sefa for more money to hire spies.
Finally one of their spies tips them off about Agnes and her lover, and they rush to the hotel room to get their proof. However, on getting there, they find Pokua’s husband, Mr Appiah in bed with Agnes.
Baaba is stunned and unable to take a photo, but Pokua puts on a brave face and takes the photo herself. They then meet with Sefa at a parking lot photo.
As he is about to leave, they ask him for the balance of their payment, but he refers them to both Misters Sampah and Owoo. He also reveals that he had no idea who Agnes was but was very impressed by how fast they delivered.
Misters Sampah and Owoo, scoff at Pokua telling her that since they helped her to find her cheating husband, she owes them money instead. A heartbroken Pokua and the girls leave for the office where Pokua cries her eyes out.
Another customer, a woman, comes to seek their services. She tells them that her boyfriend of three years has been cheating on her. When Baaba checks out the photo of the woman’s boyfriend, Baaba realizes that it is her fiance.
They promise to help the woman find her boyfriend’s lover, but when she leaves, they all resolve to close down the business. They also hand their doorman a 6-month severance pay to help him cope while he gets back on his feet.
Mr. Appiah apologizes to Pokua for cheating but blames her absence on why he strayed. Baaba breaks up with her fiance and Fella tries to get back with her ex-boyfriend, but he blocks her calls.
A year later, Fella goes back to their former office, reminiscing on the past year when she finds a couple arguing about their problems. She smiles and runs back to Baaba and Pokua to tell them about her new idea.
She proposes that they use their past experiences to counsel broken relationships. They all agree and they form the Volunteers of Love foundation.
My Thoughts
Like I said, I was left confused at the end of it all. I asked myself what the moral of the story was or if there was even any moral in the first place.
I found it quite interesting that Pokua’s husband blamed her for his indiscretions when he failed as a husband. That was just a useless excuse if you ask me.
Was this film mediocre?
No, it was not. It was way above average.
Nana Ama McBrown’s acting was the single greatest thing in this movie. The moment when she broke down after Misters Owoo and Sampah scoffed at her was
The Cinematographer on this project was amazing. I mean the way the camera moved when they were arguing, how they were filmed when they went space hunting, driving, chasing and so on was
Even the sound guy was
The director did a great job because everybody, I mean EVERY-DAMN-BODY acted their asses off in this movie. Nobody was a weak link. Even the people that usually fail in other films were
in this movie.
Would I watch it again?
That would be a maybe and here is why.
Although the story, for the most part, was great. The climax and resolution ruined it for me.
I get that they wanted to show that “no relationship is perfect” but didn’t they think that making a cheated wife and sidechick out of two of the women was a bit too much?
And even when they did that, why weren’t we showed how Pokua resolved that staying with her cheating husband was the best decision for her?
Even Mr. Appiah’s apology was a very “take it or leave it” apology. This was how I thought he apologized:
but,
and then he left her alone to cry by herself.
#HusbandOfTheYear.
Also, what happened to Baaba’s brashness and verbal diarrhea?
My verdict
I give this movie a 3.5 out of 5. It was a fairly entertaining movie until I got to the end and I was like
Cast and Crew
Directed by Peter Sedufia
Produced by Laurene Manaa Abdallah and Peter Sedufia
Written by Rachel Adikwu
Starring
- Nana Ama McBrown as Pokua
- Lydia Forson as Baaba
- Sika Osei as Fella
- Bernard Nyarko as Mr Sampah
- Edward Agyekum Kufuor as Mr Appiah
- Beverly Afaglo as Mrs Owoo
- Don Ziggy Netyson as Mr Owoo
- Adjetey Anang as Sefa
Music by Reynolds The Gentleman
Cinematography by Bamie Lammeh Yesseh
Edited by Peter Sedufia and Laurene Manaa Abdallah
Year of Release 2018
Running time 91 minutes
Country Ghana
Language English, Twi
Myopic Concaves 
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