Lawrence Maleka and Kwanele Mthethwa in a scene from “Lobola Man”. l NETFLIX
IT’S always such a pleasure when you switch on Netflix and find something that catches your attention.
This was the case when I recently came across the South African romantic comedy, “Lobola Man”.
Produced by Burnt Onion Productions and directed by Thabang Moleya, the movie follows Ace Ngubeni (Lawrence Maleka), a playboy of note, who doesn’t ever see himself settling down into marriage.
However, his hustle contradicts his beliefs.
Ace is a slick lobola negotiator, called on by families to help lower lobola prices for Zulu brides, for a fee, of course.
Ace faces his toughest deal yet when, Mr Shy Guy, Duke Maseko, sneaks up on him to ask for his services.
Duke, the developer of a famous dating app, is wealthy and can pay any price for his bride, but the problem lies with his fiancées father, Mr Zungu, played by Nimrod Nkosi.
Mr Zungu, a multi-millionaire businessman, thinks that his precious daughter, Zandile (Kwanele Mthethwa), can find a man much better than Duke.
Duke offers Ace an exorbitant amount of money to handle his lobola negotiations. But there is a catch, Duke doesn’t want any of his real family to attend for fear that they will “embarrass” him.
Ace is allowed to negotiate Zandile’s lobola price and the rest of the money is his.
The master negotiator has to conjure up a plan that involves faking an entire family who must represent Duke at these negotiations, something that Ace has never attempted before.
As expected, the situation goes from bad to worse.
The fake family consists of a gambler, a terrible stage actor and Duke’s long-lost shebeen queen aunt are on board with the plan as long as they are paid.
The fact that they aren’t the brightest crayons in the box adds to the situational comedy.
Even though Ace made sure that each person knew what was expected of them during the negotiation, no amount of preparation was sufficient for the sh** show that ensues.
From the popular eatery, California Dreaming, at Durban’s North Beach promenade, to fishing at the famous marina, Wilson's Wharf, the movie showcases KZN in all its glory.
Overall, the movie offers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, making it perfect for a “Netflix and chill” weekend or weekday watch.