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City Press movie review
Movie: Looking for Love
Director: Adze Ugah
Starring: Celeste Ntuli
Rating: 4/5
New local rom-com Looking For Love is a very funny movie with unbelievable scenes that will leave you in stitches.
What makes it so appealing is to see a charming black woman as the lead. Celeste Ntuli plays Buyi Dube, and she is trying very hard to get a man. She is very different from the skinny, white actresses you normally see starring in a romantic comedy. She also has short hair in the film.
She shows she can play different roles besides the housewife Siphokazi Zungu on Mzansi Magic soapie Isibaya.
In Looking For Love Ntuli is killing it.
The plot sees her move from KwaZulu-Natal to look for a job in the city of gold.
She ends up taking a job at the mortuary.
The movie has a lot of catchy lines to take home but one that stands out is when she meets a white guy called Brad Peterson and says: “I’m getting the land back, one round at a time.”
She picks up men in different places including church, crèche and of course clubs.
The storyline is predictable – you get an idea of how it might end, but the cast’s great performance makes up for it. Talented supporting actors rise to the occasion and deliver.
Trevor Gumbi plays Gregg and deserves a best supporting award. He sticks with his friend Buyi despite her flaws and never gives up on her. He manages to keep the story going with his jokes.
The film is directed by Nigeria-born Adze Ugah, who directed 2016 romantic comedy Mrs Right Guy.
The success of White Wedding in 2009 and Happiness is a Four Letter Word in 2016 seems to have opened doors for this movie genre in Mzansi. Other works that Ugah has done include writing for Isibaya.
It’s good to see more local rom-coms, as over the years the South African movie industry has been dominated by crime films – if not Leon Schuster.
