When Harry Met Sally is one of those iconic New York based romantic comedies, the grand daddy of romantic comedies like Survivor is to reality TV, so Akin Omotoso can't go wrong by borrowing elements from this classic... can he? Let's dig in.
Off the bat I'm willing to swear that big fans of romantic comedies (mostly ladies) are going to love Tell Me Sweet Something. It's filled with pretty people and pretty houses, in a very pretty sanitised Johannesburg. You'd even forget Maboneng is surrounded by inner city grime.
The pearl of wisdoms from the actual gran couples (unlike the actors in When Harry Met Sally) will score high with romantics. Judging by how the film is already close to the R1 million on Friday alone, the film is connecting to its audience. So prepare yourself for more romantic comedies.
So what about your average movie watcher who's not necessarily a rom-com fan? Does Tell Me Sweet Something have anything to offer them? Well, there are a good one or two laugh-out-loud moments but unfortunately Tell Me is very generic.
All the tropes you've seen in countless romantic comedies are here - the film doesn't offer anything new. You get what you've seen in Hitch, When Harry Met Sally et al. The only difference is that it's set in a very sanitised and idealistic South Africa where a writer can actually afford to own a bookshop in Maboneng and afford to live there too. Yes, it's that kind of film and if stuff like that doesn't make you think twice, you'll enjoy it.
You have to commend Akin Omotoso and Robbie Thorpe on knowing which star power to harness. You have the power couple Maps Maponyane and Nomzamo Mbata as the leads. They make sure Maps struts his six pack around, dresses up nicely and is able to deliver his lines like a pro.
Nomzamo, who is no stranger to local TV audiences, is dolled up nicely and they make sure she is always looking fashionable - she's able to inhabit the co-lead character naturally. The two leads do have a kind of chemistry.
The supporting cast of Thomas Gumede, Thembi Seete and the ever brilliant Thishiwe Ziqubu are on point and really deliver the comic situations as the sidekicks of the two love birds.
Yet, for all its star power, good looks and very sanitised representation of jo'burg, I didn't find the story that compelling and halfway through I was waiting for the end to come 'cause the film was ticking all the "safe" genre conventions.
There's no sassiness of the Bridesmaids or Trainwreck or the inventiveness of 500 days of Summer or even the honesty of the Best Man. Instead of being a light mediation on relationships in urban SA, it becomes an idealised / "aspirational" take on relationships in SA.
It actually feels very bizarre when real life authors make cameos in it for Moratiwa livelihood is so far from the writers' experience in SA, materially speaking anyways.
There's a lot of gloss in this film that makes guys like Tyler Perry millionaires, fluff that you will forget as soon as you step out of the cinema but I guess there's a huge population out there that loves it 'cause its doing good numbers at the box office so far. For that Akin Omotoso and Robbie Thorpe should be applauded. I think this is one for the fans of the genre and offers little to nothing for non-fans.
Rating : **
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* Junk ** Almost Bearable *** Now we cooking **** Almost Perfect ***** Classic