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After two failed relationships, a woman — with the help of her best friend — embarks on a journey to self-discovery.
By Teo Bugbee
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The South African comedy “Seriously Single” begins with its heroine, Dineo (Fulu Mugovhani) — a social media manager in Johannesburg who thrives at work and in friendship — accidentally livestreaming her latest breakup.
Humiliated, Dineo tries to rebound straight to happily-ever-after with a new flame, Lunga (Bohang Moeko), who seems like he might be the one. But when the relationship with him goes up in smoke, Dineo turns to her roommate and best friend, Noni (Tumi Morake), to become her guide to single life. What follows is a charming journey to self-discovery; Noni supports Dineo as she stumbles through romantic disappointment toward fresh independence.
The plot and character archetypes are predictable, so what’s left to distinguish the film is the charm it brings to known elements. “Seriously Single” doesn’t make a big visual impression. The directors — the brother-and-sister team of Katleho and Rethabile Ramaphakela — favor bright and flat cinematography, which give the movie a consistent look. But they don’t create many rich or surprising images.
Fortunately, the filmmakers chose two charismatic leads whose good-natured chemistry makes the contrivances of public betrayals and club breakups feel fun. The directors also demonstrate agreeable ease in adapting the formulaic plot to fit their South African setting. Characters casually switch between dialects and languages, and the movie presents diversity in a relaxed and unstudied way, including performers with different personal styles, skin tones and body types. “Seriously Single” offers simple pleasures, and makes it easy to enjoy this girls’ night out.
Seriously SingleNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes. Watch on Netflix.
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