Finding Lenny

FINDING LENNY with Barry Hilton, Russel Savadier, Catriona Andrew and Yule Masiteng, directed by Neal Sundstrom. Rating: 5 out of 10.

POPULAR South African comedian Barry Hilton makes his big screen debut in this silly, but relatively amiable local comedy which bears a fairly close resemblance to the Rodney Dangerfield soccer flick, "Ladybugs". The story finds Hilton playing a sports reporter named Lenny Vincent who loses his job on his 50th birthday. Shortly afterward his sluttish wife leaves him for another man and then he gets put in the the boot of a getaway car during a robbery. Obviously this isn't much fun for the poor fellow, but his miserable life takes a turn for the better when he becomes the coach of a rural soccer team. "Finding Lenny", which was digitally shot on a lowish budget, has a predictable storyline, a weak script and sometimes feels like a Leon Schuster film. However, there are some laughs to be had and Hilton proves himself to be a reasonably capable actor and an interesting screen presence. Clearly there isn't much on offer here for discerning or sophisticated cinema-goers, but the movie is likely to prove popular with Barry Hilton's fans in South Africa. However, it seems sad that even after the triumphs of "Tsotsi" and the amazing "Jerusalema", South African filmmakers continue to churn out these mediocre "local" comedies filled with stereotypical characters.

"Finding Lenny" is a low-budget South African comedy. I found Lenny (Barry Hilton) to be a slovenly, unkempt man who loses his wife, his job and is kidnapped. But you know the saying, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. And half-way through, it became a soccer film. Hilton had decent comedic timing for a straight man, but he failed to induce any sympathy or empathy. The other, white, characters were even worse. I did at least enjoy the South African tribe.

Mostly this was just a film with adult characters in adult situations with some adult-level jokes and then some unfunny jokes. I haven't figured out how this is supposed to be for children or families, except that it is a PG comedy.

Lenny wasn't able to connect me to his story, and most of the other characters turned me off of it. Other reviewers have found "Finding Lenny" to be quirky and uplifting while ably delivering a decent message. I would even add refreshing because of its independent South African roots. However, I can't really recommend it because I found it boring and not funny and not directed to its audience. I do recognize that it deserves some fans. You might be one of them if you are looking for a small, low-budget independent film with uplifting quirkiness told through soccer.

Finding Lenny can and will be talked about with pride, pride at being South African and pride in being able to feel uplifted by this quirky, often moving movie. And does it have a message? - yes most definitely. There are choices in life, be brave and make some,you'll be surprised where they lead you. Neal Sundstrom, Barry Hilton and the crew made the right choice in Finding Lenny, they found their answer and so will you. The acting,photography and direction is executed with a sense of fun with a light touch of pathos when needed.This film has many elements in it that the audience can relate to, everything happens for a reason- you had better believe it, otherwise you can just lie down and bury you head in the sand. We need to be positive about ourselves without loosing sight of the realities of life. Finding Lenny achieves its aim admirably.

Finding Lenny celebrates the best of our South African-ess with humour, warm and amusing characters and an uplifting tale about love, sport, family ties and the way our luck can change in an instant. Im not a sports lover - don't even know how a soccer game works actually- but I had a lump in my throat as the soccer game became about so much more than kicking a ball around. Its light and funny and we are damn proud that a bunch of South African's could make something so fabulous! I think that its an excellent debut for Barry Hilton - under good directorship, his timing is perfect and its not overdone. Fab to see Fish and Masinga along for the ride and well done to Yule for a truly charismatic performance. Savadier is perfect and the women who plays Lenny's morally compromised wife was spot-on. Just know the kind of house that Lenny lives in and felt his pains, his joys and his Joburg-ness!