Straight To DVD, the home of C2’s war on substandard film-making, has reached a new heights. Having thoroughly scraped the cinematic barrel, from Trailer Park of Terror to Psycho 2, one awful film has finally gained the recognition it deserves. Just last week the Nairobi Star, Kenya’s foremost national newspaper, picked up our man Josh Lobes’ review of Mob Doc.
The film is a low-budget classic of Kenya’s booming (and non-existent) independent film scene, exemplifying the cutting edge brilliance of Jitu Films.
Our review has been picked up by the Nairobi Star as an example of the foreign response to Kenyan cinema. Sitting under the catchy headline, ‘How foreign eyes described Kenyan film as Art-House gold’ lies our very own review of Mob Doc, proving sarcasm to be an international language.
Admittedly, the review has taken a serious detour via the Nairobi Star editing office. No longer is it the crafted satire we are so used to seeing from the pen of Josh Lobes (pronounced Lo-Bez) instead it has been turned into a glowing review.
I spoke Lobes himself on the subject. He seemed affronted by the twisting of his satirical tone, in his own words ‘I think they missed the point a little.’ However, he has generously said that ‘anything that’s good for Kenya is good for Josh Lobes.’ Who would have thought that a copy of Cherwell would reach far-flung Nairobi? It’s a true testament to the power of the global marketplace of ideas. Nestled beside an advert for ‘Almed’s Chocolate Bra and Panties’ sits a well-traveled article.
The good news for Lobes is that the editing whiz-kids at the Nairobi Star slipped up. Much as they may have tried to remove all satirical content, one line of Lobes’ slipped under the radar. At least both the Cherwell and the Star agree that Mob Doc ‘looks like it was made by children’. Therein lies the essence of Straight To DVD: journalism worthy of the films that we watch.
