A Good Man in Africa (1994)

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

William Boyd (novel), William Boyd (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Friels, Sean Connery, John Lithgow

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Friels	...	Morgan Leafy, 1st Secretary of the High Commissioner
Sean Connery	...	Dr. Alex Murray
John Lithgow	...	Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
Diana Rigg	...	Chloe Fanshawe
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Prof. Sam Adekunle
Joanne Whalley	...	Celia Adekunle (as Joanne Whalley-Kilmer)
Sarah-Jane Fenton	...	Priscilla Fanshawe
Maynard Eziashi	...	Friday, Leafy's Houseman
Jeremy Crutchley	...	Dalmire
Jackie Mofokeng	...	Hazel, Leafy's Mistress
Daphne Greenwood	...	Duchess
Themba Ndaba	...	Kojo
David Phetoe	...	Isaiah
Dambuza Mdledle	...	Sonny, Hazel's Brother
Lillian Dube	...	Innocence, Maid who was struck by lightning

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | political corruption | satire | golf | british diplomat | 

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Taglines:

They call it diplomacy.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Details

Country:

South Africa USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Afrika koktél

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,308,390 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capitol Films, Polar Entertainment, South African Breweries

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Colin Friels was cast after Gary Oldman dropped out of the production.

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Quotes

Kojo: You're a good man, Mr. Leafy.
Morgan Leafy: You think so? Well, better late than never.

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Soundtracks

"My Foolish Heart"
Written by Ned Washington & Victor Young
Performed by Maucha Adnet

User Reviews

so much wasted potential

Don't be fooled by the "East Africa" disclaimer. This is about Nigeria, specifically Lagos at the time of the oil boom, when it was the capital. Although many names have been changed, the Yoruba thunder god, Shango, is not, nor are some of the others.

There was so much humor possible in that time and place (you had to laugh just to keep from crying sometimes) that of course some of it found its way into the film. The author never understood what was happening, so of course he missed a lot, but then he made the very ignorance of the British one of the butts of his humor. God I love British humor, I envy them for it and I'm grateful to them for giving us Chaplin, Bob Hope, and so many others. But I digress. And this film is not on the level of Chaplin or Hope. I was disappointed.

The biggest disappointment was watching great talents like Sean Connery, Diana Rigg and Lou Gossett sleepwalking through their roles on their way to a paycheck. They could have done better.