“Everybody Loves Jenifa” Cements Funke Akindele’s Legacy but Lacks A Qualitative Narrative Edge

In 2009, Jenifa, a Yoruba-language comedy-drama film produced by Olatunji Balogun and directed by Muyideen Ayinde, was released, marking the beginning of the Jenifa franchise. The film was led by Funke Akindele, who played the character of Suliat, also known as Jenifa, an uneducated but overambitious village girl who relocates to Lagos where she navigates different challenges and social relationships. The character was known for her distinctive bad English and often ludicrous actions that were a source of humour to the audience. So much was its popularity that, three years after, a second part titled The Return of Jenifa was made. Then, the franchise took a unique turn with the creation of the television series Jenifa’s Diary that began airing in 2015, and was soon followed by spinoff web series, Aiyetoro Town (2018) and Jenifa On Lockdown. With the latest installment Everybody Loves Jenifa, which debuted in the Nigerian cinemas around December 2024 and currently holds the record of the all-time highest-grossing Nollywood film, the franchise takes a unique turn that accentuates Akindele’s longevity, resilience and commitment to sustaining the unique character for over a decade. Now on Prime Video since its unmatched domestic box office excellence, the film opens its arms to a wider audience, giving room for possibly more critical assessments than the sheer buzz and marketing that overshadowed its initial cinema run.

Everybody Loves Jenifa is a comedy drama produced by Funke Akindele and co-directed by Tunde Olaoye. Just like previous installments in the franchise, it is based on the life of Jenifa who, despite her poor command of the English language, remains confident and undaunted in her quest for social impact. Here, Jenifa, a thriving entrepreneur and humanitarian with a beauty salon and foundation to her name, navigates issues of domestic violence and fraud involving estate neighbours and couple, Lobster (Stan Nze) and Olivia (Nancy Isime), romantic relationship with long-term sweetheart Shege (Falz), and friendship betrayal from Toyosi (Juliana Oloyede). All thanks to its array of stars, the film has an immediate appeal, drawing the audience to readily connect with their on-screen favourites. This includes actors in previous installments of the franchise reprising their roles, a logical decision that emboldens its narrative universe. There are cameos of Afrobeats artiste D’Banj, iconic singer Lagbaja, Guinness World Record-holding chef Hilda Baci and celebrity fashion designer Veekee James, which adds a lilt to the film. The overall casting choice comes off as an astute cinema-targeted marketing strategy. For many Nigerians, the cinema is viewed as an elite distribution platform, and attendance is often assured only when there is a compelling reason to go, such as the chance to watch their favorite stars on screen.

The film opens with rescue operations at a fire incident in Amen Estate. Amidst cries for help, Jenifa successfully rescues a child from the burning building, to the applause of everyone on site. Following the incident, she receives accolades for her bravery and selfless conduct and tries to stretch the impact of her foundation in a local community, attracting envy from estate neighbour Angel  (Destiny Etiko) and trouble from local drug peddler and lout Jaburata  (Lateef Adedimeji). Soon, Jenifa gets to meet Lobster, an acclaimed successful businessman who also runs a foundation, with whom she unsuccessfully attempts to secure a partnership deal. The first notable conflict arises when Lobster gets into a physical confrontation with his wife, which results in her being hospitalized. Jenifa, being a witness to the incident, takes it upon herself to seek justice for the wife. This seems like meddlesomeness, but it also highlights an unquenchable zeal and unwillingness to give in to the pressures mounted on her by friends and other occupants of the estate. As a result of Jenifa’s efforts, we get to see Lobster for the sham that he truly is.

Another major conflict surfaces during the sojourn of Jenifa and her friends in Ghana where Shege lures her to for a marriage proposal. This comes after Jenifa reunites with Toyosi. While in the West African country, the visitors get into a dangerous confrontation with Bebe, a local female drug peddler and kingpin, who will stop at nothing to recover her missing warps of cocaine. Tensions are created in moments like this, but nothing prepares us for the discovery that Toyosi’s pious disposition is a cover-up for her moral ineptitude. As is the case with most Nollywood resolutions, the bad guys here have to face the music for their actions while the good guys are vindicated. Here, Jenifa receives a grand and celebratory welcome from the estate occupants and friends and agrees to marry Shege when he proposes for the second time. This ending feels hyper-realistic, melodramatic, so blown out of proportion that it feels more aspirational and ideal than in touch with everyday sensibility. But it’s equally permissible and understandable because high-brow comedy of this kind does not always entertain logical scenarios.

Perhaps Everybody Loves Jenifa is best understood as a soft satire, with its preachings against social ills and follies such as drug abuse, domestic violence and marital abuse, fraud, corruption and betrayal of trust effectively communicated. The Jenifa character exhibits an appreciable degree of emotional maturity, particularly as seen through her humanist endeavours. Except for her idiosyncratic lack of formal education, recalcitrance and often laughable speech behaviour, the character becomes a moral compass and a role model for young people, particularly women, in the communities. Like other cinema projects of Funke Akindele— Battle On Buka Street, Omo Ghetto: The Saga, A Tribe Called Judah—this film prioritizes social consciousness and emotional appeal over nuances in character development and narrative material, a demonstration of the filmmaker’s commitment to making films that are mass-minded, relatable to Nigerians of all classes while offering both dramatic and comedic entertainment. As a standalone work of art, it does not go above, or  beyond in trying to impress. Its dialogues, characters, actions and thematic terrain are optimized for quick digestion. The cinematography and lighting are mostly lush, reflective of the film’s overall sprightly pacing.

However, with Everybody Loves Jenifa, Akindele introduces the titular character to the big screens for the first time, reinforcing its significance as one of the most iconic characters in contemporary Nigerian film and television history. Mirroring Akindele’s profound artistic and commercial influence in the industry today, the film is a reminder of how much women can achieve and contribute to societal development when given the chance, voice and infrastructure to do so.