- Making her directorial debut, Toyin Abraham delivers a December offering, Oversabi Aunty
- The movie follows the life of Toun (played by Abraham), a self-righteous church usher obsessed with fixing others, but neglects the emotional needs of her own household
- TheRadar reviews the movie and whether it makes up for recent unimpressive theatrical products of the producer and director, Abraham
Earlier in June, when I reviewed Toyin Abraham’s Iyalode, the closing line of my review was “Toyin Abraham will be back in December but I won’t be there.”
Well, I hate to break it to you that I was there, courtesy of a generous sponsor who insisted on renewing what is becoming a toxic relationship with the actress’ movies.
For Oversabi Aunty, which hit the cinemas on December 19, 2025, I went there with an open mind, no Iyalode-induced prejudice or Priscilla Ojo’s wedding bias. Clean slate and another chance for the Alakada madam to impress me.
A few scenes into the movie, it was already a full-blown war between my head and heart. “This movie is typical Toyin, no maintain your open-mindedness, it will soon make sense.”
This internal struggle continued for a few minutes before I declared a defeat for my open-mindedness. “Sorry bro, it wasn’t meant to be.”
Oversabi Aunty, for the pedigree of its director, packed a lot of stars: Mike Ezuronye, Enioluwa Adeoluwa, Odunlade Adekola, Jemima Osunde, Efe Irele, Tana Adelana, Damilola Oni, and Bianca Ugo, among others.
This definitely piqued the interest of many cinema goers, and it’s possible that they were not disappointed but this writer doesn’t fall into that category.
What ‘Oversabi Aunty’ tries to achieve
The movie explores the life of an ‘oversabi aunty’, obviously Toyin Abraham, who is an overzealous, holier-than-thou church usher. She is quick to spot the faults in other church members’ children, but is absent emotionally for her children and blind to their vices.
Oversabi aunty is a Yoruba woman married to an Igbo man (Mike Ezuronye), and they both have four kids – three girls and one boy. Their union embodies the ethnic intolerance that characterises Nigeria.
The hubris of a manic devout is laid bare as her children battle neglect and eventually indulge in the same immoral acts that she crucified other kids for. In the end, she tries to atone for her neglect by going to prison instead of her erring child.
Where ‘Oversabi Aunty’ missed it
While the ambition of the movie is lofty, its execution falls flat. The scripting looks devoid of any serious work as actors repeated lines many times. Some parts and scenes felt too long, some borderline skippable.
For instance, I’m still trying to decipher the importance of the scene where Mama Chuka aka Oversabi aunty went for an Igbo women's association meeting. The humour was there, but it could have been done away with.
If you are a student of Literature, a plot builds up with conflict to the climax before reaching a resolution. The climax of the movie came with probably 20 minutes to spare. One could watch the last 15 minutes of the movie and understand the whole story.
This means that suspense, tension were lacking and it comes down to the writing. The film came alive at the closing stages, with the vices of Oversabi aunty’s children coming in full glare but that was a little too late.
As the lead, Toyin Abraham’s acting also felt a little over the edge – too dramatic (if it doesn’t sound awkward in a drama).
In the end, there was a gaping lack of cohesion in the plot, which could have made the idea come out much better and even put the film in contention for awards. The idea is commendable but the execution is unimpressive, to put it mildly.
As far as directorial debuts go, it could have been better. Toyin Abraham should gain more depth before taking on more of such duties.
Positives
Along with the movie coming alive at the tail end, Efe Irele, who played Seyi the first daughter of the Oversabi usher, caught attention with the execution of her line. Mike Ezuronye showed that he is an industry veteran even though his lines could have been tighter.
Curious about Enioluwa’s performance?
Well, he tried. The parts where he needed to be a sulky, attention-deprived lastborn, he did well. But he struggled to embody the flair needed for the outbursts of anger, something which would have been seamless for someone like Timini Egbuson.
But he’ll keep growing, I’m sure.
Movie Review: Labake Olododo serves action, romance, drama, but does it deliver?
In an earlier report, TheRadar reviewed Iyabo Ojo's movie, Labake Olododo, which hit the cinemas on March 28.
The movie featured popular faces such as Femi Adebayo, Afeez Oyetoro, Wumi Toriola, Tayo Faniran, Ibrahim Chatta, Abeni Agbon, Yinka Quadri, Olumide Oworu and Iyabo Ojo herself.
