Nollywood has come a long way to be disrespected by asinine comments and balderdash reviews; therefore, we’ll keep this article succinct and profound. This piece would be approached with stern objectivity without taking away the impeccable works of modern movie directors, creatives, and writers.
Should this article get on the desk of any creative director or movie writer, they should understand that this article is aimed at only unveiling what seems to be missing in modern Nollywood productions.
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So, What Makes Modern Comedy Movies Monotonous?
The simple answer to the entirety of this article would be overproduction of the film; however, that would be too simplified.
First, we need to establish that modern Nollywood movies have better camera qualities and better promotion compared to the materials that were released in the late 90s and early 2000s.
The camera work and technique applied in Mo Abudu’s 2018 comedy film, Chief Daddy, cannot be compared to that of Nkem Owoh’s Osoufia in London. Though the approach to the former is much professional compared to the latter, Osoufia is still more memorable- Nigerians still prefer to go on YouTube or Netflix to laugh out loud and forget their sorrows, this is usually done with the help of old Nollywood films.
Although the new movies have a massive budget and an exaggerated amount of return on investment (ROI), several modern comedy films have no replay value. The scripts are boring, banal, and predictable; in the end, the lead actor always finds a way to emerge successful after dragging underwhelming jokes for almost 60 minutes.
No one goes back to the cinema to watch New Money, Quam Money, A Trip to Jamaica, Sugar Rush, Alakada, etc., further, they have no cult following, and the movies are easily forgettable. Once again, it’s not about massive budgets, overacting, and cameo appearances from trending skitmakers. As a matter of fact, the indulgence of skitmakers in a movie project is a discussion for another day.
Modern Nollywood movies have become watered down and aimed at only appealing to a demographic through a monotonous theme, which is ‘grass to grace’ stories. The storylines are robotic and the actors are unable to naturally express themselves as they would if they were in another genre of film such as romantic films, thrillers, dramas, folklore, etc. films that were designed to be comedy ought to be light hearted and charming, however, we have actors who are trying too hard to crack jokes and coerce a joke out of their audience.
Whatever is done out of coercion isn’t pure, nor is it natural; therefore, it’ll bore the viewers, and they wouldn’t want to rewatch it or would watch a singular movie on multiple intervals. This isn’t replay value; it’s disposable entertainment.
Once again, this writer isn’t trying to take away the good works of modern comedy films; instead, I’m simply admonishing scriptwriters to focus on the strength of those who can play a role properly. Mawuli Gavor isn’t a funny guy. Stop forcing him to play funny roles. Broda Shaggi is hilarious; however, too much talkativeness makes one banal. You lose your audience when you don’t deliver the punchline in time and cut to the next scene. I’m a big fan of Nollywood movies, especially comedy, but I’ll always prefer the ones that have Aki and Pawpaw, Nkem Owoh, the late great comic actors Mr Ibu (John Okafor) and Sam Loco, and Charles Onojie over so-called funny films on Netflix.
Not to say there are no awesome modern comedy films, but the element of unpredictability and spontaneity is what makes a comedy film awesome and interesting. Not necessarily the camera work and exaggerated viewership figures from movie producers, if a movie was so impressive, why wasn’t it discussed extensively online or influential? Omoni Oboli’s 2025 blockbuster, Love In Every Word, shattered records on the video streaming platform, YouTube, becoming a sleeper hit several days after it was released.
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That movie did numbers. Ruth Kadiri’s romantic comedy films are doing very well on YouTube as well, and she is making sure budding actors get the chance that they deserve. Now, this is impressive.
Popular comedian Bovi Ugboma is another example of a thespian who is creating some of the funniest movies and series on YouTube. Do well to check out some of his works: Back to School, Banana Republic, and the ongoing Visa on Arrival. These are impeccable works of art, astonishing.
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Conclusion: Keep Up The Good Work or Don’t
In conclusion, modern Nollywood movies are boring because they are mechanical, dragged, and verbose.
You can’t force Jokes, it’s either you’re funny or you’re not, and most so-called comedy films are simply not cracking it. At best, they are works of art released to fill up the entertainment space in Nigeria.
Also, it’s important to note that old timers also had their own flaws. Most of the old movies had no direction, they were anticlimactic and were a little bit all over the place, but they did well for the minimal budget that was available to them at the time.
Everyone will do the best they can; therefore, as viewers, we should simply enjoy what they have produced or just turn a blind eye to what we didn’t enjoy watching.
