A Good Man in Africa (1994)

Politics are already strained between English imperialists and the West African government of Kinjanja, when womanizing British diplomat Morgan Leafy (Colin Friels) is caught in bed with ... See full summary »

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

William Boyd (novel), William Boyd (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Friels, Sean Connery, Joanne Whalley

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	...	Dickie 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 struck by lightning

Storyline

Politics are already strained between English imperialists and the West African government of Kinjanja, when womanizing British diplomat Morgan Leafy (Colin Friels) is caught in bed with Celia (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer), wife of corrupt Kinjanjan presidential candidate Sam Adekunle (Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr.). As punishment, Leafy is forced into bribing an official who has voted down a project that stands to make Adekunle very rich. Leafy thinks he's gotten off easy until he learns the lone holdout is none other than Kinjanja's own brick wall of integrity, Dr. Alex Murray (Connery). Meanwhile, Leafy must also contend with his absurdly stuffy boss Fanshawe (John Lithgow), Fanshawe's lusty wife (Diana Rigg) and their luscious, too friendly daughter!

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | independent film | british diplomat | female nudity | satire | 

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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 USA:

$2,308,390

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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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Quiz Show/Milk Money/A Simple Twist of Fate/A Good Man in Africa/What Happened Was... (1994)

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Soundtracks

Neo Abe Beto
Composed by Eric Agyeman
Performed by Eric Agyeman
Courtesy of Ghana Records

User Reviews

An interesting outlook, but ultimately fails to impress.

A quite interesting comedy about the British aristocrats in a newly-independent country of Africa. Colin Friels does a very decent job as the Mr. Leafy, the first secretary of British High Comissioner. So does Sean Connery. The screenplay has a very smart satirical flavor in it with fine sense of humor regarding royal formalities, sexual clichés and even venereal diseases.

But the main problem of the movie is perhaps its ending. The ending is quite abrupt and the scene thereafter is surprisingly mundane. In fact, I don't get the idea behind all that stuff. I haven't read the original novel but seems like now I want to check it out.