A Good Man in Africa

A Good Man in Africa is a parody of Africa. The action takes place in an imaginary African country, Kinjaja. The movie centres around Morgan Leafy, a British diplomat and a gigolo who wants countless damsels. Morgan isn't a memorable character, he can't be a role model, but the character does develop throughout the movie.

One flaw of the movie is false advertisement. On the DVD cover we see Sean Connery in the front plan, on another DVD cover we don't even see Morgan. Even the description doesn't mention Morgan; this is made to make us believe that Sean Connery plays a major role, but he doesn't. He plays a white doctor, Alex Murray, a doctor at the local hospital. Needless to say, Connery is the best actor in the movie. He's there only for about 10 minutes in total. And yet he has a major role? Very cheap strategy.

A Good Man in Africa has light, subtle humour, it may not be funny, but it's original. As I've said before, it's a parody of Africa, politics in Africa, the African man himself and the white man trying to fit in. Mildly racist, mildly funny, overall - decent.

Final Score: 2.5/5 or 5/10

William Boyd is a good writer and verges on greatness at times but this film seems to suffer from too much money and talent, but not enough effort.

The book is funny. The naive Englishman Mr. Leafy tries to navigate through African politics and colonial interests. There are some interesting sexual subplots and classic scenes of trousers down British farce but the film loses all the subtlety and parody.

Sean Connery appears. He has a supporting role which threatens to overbalance the film, he stops the plot in its tracks.

Write William Write ! If I catch you behind a camera again, I'll pull out the plug and sit you down behind a typewriter until you come up with something as great as The New Confessions.

I have never read a William Boyd book but after having seen this movie, I have a mind to look out for them. A Good Man in Africa felt pretty much how I imagined a Tom Sharpe novel would appear on screen, farcical, riotous, uproarious and hilarious. Except there was something important missing in the film. There were a some very good scenes which showed up the farce to excellent effect. The unfortunate intervention of a tropical disease into the evening's entertainment, the unequal game of golf, the fitting for the Santa outfit, the corpse removal, the shower scene, the flight from disgruntled locals are just some examples of the farce. Friels' diplomat is at the heart of each embarrassment and he is charming in a very understated way, but he seems as bemused by his role as he is by events that unfurl around him.

Friels' supporting cast is also pretty mixed, John Lithgow, Diana Rigg and Sean Connery are amongst the best and they seem to have more fun than Friels does in his role and this is not just because Friels is hard done by as the 'put-upon' embassy attache. The belly laughs expected of a good farce do not materialise although there is plenty to chuckle about and think on. However, for the chuckles alone the film is well worth seeing, now let us see how the book compares.

A very much lighter and more humorous version of "The Ugly American", this film spotlights the misadventures of a naive and utterly clueless diplomat as he attempts to assume the role of foreign diplomat in an unnamed African country. The lead character is vacuously played by no one that most audiences would recognize, or remember for that matter. I found myself hoping to see Sam Neill come creeping up in the next scene. Brilliant performances by Diana Rigg, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Sean Connery, along with several other known and unknown actors, provided intriguing counterpoint and kept me watching. As with any good satire, I was enticed to confront many assumptions, beliefs and contradictory feelings. There is much original humour and more than a few tributes to revered filmography - enough to keep me laughing, smiling and/or trying to remember what movie was being referred to, for most of the movie. Comedy/satire may not be Beresford's best long suit, but I'll take this over just about any Hollywood comedy movie I've seen in quite some time.

This movie was tolerable - I sat through it all, but it wouldn't have been missed at all if I'd never seen it. The antics of the British High Commission are almost (but not quite) laughable, and the Poms must have been a bit miffed that their embassy was mainly staffed by Aussies and Yanks with weak accents. In any case, the idea definitely held promise, it just didn't eventuate. Fortunately it was only 90 mins. long. Sean Connery puts in a tolerable performance but all too little, too late for this film. Even the lovely Joanne Whalley doesn't help. In all, don't bother, but if you must, there are worse things you could do.