A Good Man in Africa

Based on William Boyd's 1981 novel, the film has a touch of Evelyn Waugh — though the satire is served dry, it has still got a kick. Read full review

Alex Murray is the conscience of A Good Man in Africa, but to the credit of both Connery and Beresford, he's anything but self-pleased or smug, and neither is the film, which has some of the spirit of an old-fashioned romp. [02 Sep 1994]

Despite its obvious good intentions, several strong scenes, and the skill with which it creates its milieu - post-colonial Africa - the film never quite clicks. [09 Sep 1994]

Some prime stiff-upper-lip comedy surfaces above a messy morality tale. [09 Sep 1994, p.10]

The movie A Good Man in Africa contains the book's funniest, saltiest scenes, but it's less controlled and assured. [09 Sep 1994, p.C]

A Good Man in Africa, which has been adapted to the screen by Boyd from his first novel, isn't an out-and-out dud, but it too seems to have been sucked dry. [09 Sep 1994, p.03]

All of it plays a bit phony. Perhaps something was lost in the transition from book to film. The movie was adapted by novelist William Boyd himself, but it feels like it's missing something, maybe a narrative voice that gave all the coincidence and silliness some sense. Read full review

I was not bored during A Good Man in Africa. Just uncomfortable, as the characters thrashed about in search of a purpose. Read full review

The problem with the film is that it's frequently more tedious than funny. Read full review

Connery's charm and integrity make all his scenes worthwhile, and Lithgow's stiff-backed turn as the classic British imperialist is in good fun. Read full review

With its widely acclaimed source material and a cast of distinguished actors, A Good Man in Africa held the possibility of being a welcome departure from the ordinary. Instead, ordinary is what it rises to at its best. Read full review

A Good Man isn't hard to find -- it's all over the place -- but it does grow hard to bear. [09 Sep 1994]

A Good Man in Africa has its sensibilities in the right place, and sometimes its wit, too, but its shenanigans can't mask a certain shortfall. [09 Sep 1994, p.53]

If you plan to build an entire movie around a whining boor, his whining should have some accuracy or wit. His boorishness should at least suggest complexity, some motivation beyond the obvious. [09 Sep 1994, p.H32]

Once in a while, A Good Man in Africa hits that elusive sweet spot between serious drama and lighthearted comedy, serving at once as a satire of political corruption, a drama about personal integrity and a comedy about carnal lust and culture clash. Most of the film, though, is a mishmash of conflicting tones, veering from one emotional extreme to another so clumsily, it's impossible to keep up. [09 Sep 1994, p.G5]

There's a madcap romp in here somewhere, but Beresford doesn't locate it, despite a fine cast. The script doesn't help. [09 Sep 1994, p.19]

Connery fares better as a medicine man here than he did in Medicine Man; but Beresford was a better director in Africa with 1991's Mister Johnson. [09 Sep 1994, p.8D]

Sean Connery retains some self-respect as the doctor, but the rest of the movie pulls up very short. [16 Sep 1994, p.15]

The imposing Sean Connery lends an undeserved dignity to A Good Man in Africa, an otherwise unpleasant and cringe-worthy cinematic botch of William Boyd's 1981 novel about the misadventures of British diplomats in a newly independent West African nation. Read full review

Unforgivably terrible. Read full review

It stakes out Our Man in Havana territory in its ironic tone, but it's not nearly as humorous or as successful in delivering up a satisfying soupcon of caustic wit. Commercial prospects are tepid for what's essentially a shaggy dog story. Read full review

Bruce Beresford's film of William Boyd's first novel, A Good Man In Africa, intermittently hints at the comic absurdity with which the book reputedly abounds. However, even though Boyd himself adapted his novel for the screen, only those hints survive in this heavy handed, shapeless movie.

This droll, leisurely paced movie might alternately be titled "The Only Good Man in Africa." [09 Sep 1994, p.3F]

Disappointingly tired, unfunny, and disengaged. Read full review

Screenwriter Boyd has turned his laugh-out-loud novel into a groan-out-loud movie. Read full review

Connery doesn't have many scenes, and he does manage to keep his dignity while he is on the screen. That's more than I can say for a lot of the actors in this movie. [09 Sep 1994]

The film is brought down by stereotypical characters and a curiously dated view of Africa. Read full review