Mrs. Right Guy is a South African romantic comedy that started off slow for me. If it wasn't for Joe played by Lehasa Moloi and Dumile played by Thapelo Mokoena, who reminded me of Kadeem Hardison in the late 90s, I would have stopped watching after the first 30 or so minutes. The movie opens with our heroine Gugu (Dineo Moeketsi) waking up in a luxury hotel on her honeymoon only to discover that her new husband had not only abandoned her but left her with the bill. Three years later, we see Gugu again, and this time she is embittered toward men in ways that are meant to be funny, but I didn't find amusing at all. It didn't help that the script focused on everyone making comments about her light skin.
The story became interesting when Dumile (Gugu's boss at the advertising agency) said that because of her spunk and because she doesn't suck up, he wanted her to be his sounding board. Gugu calls Dumile on his attraction to her, and he couldn't deny it. Every man seemed to be attracted to Gugu and her "light skin," which was one of the reasons I didn't care for this movie. Even a blind man said she was beautiful. I mean, come on!
I could not root for Gugu, whose troubles stemmed from her own superficiality, which made her a big hypocrite considering her judgments of men who objectify her. Then there was a kiss between Gugu and one of the men that was so out of place that I thought it was a dream sequence.
However, on a positive note, the plot is not predictable. Conflict ensues when Dumile and Joe face off in regards to Joe's Chicken Farm and an advertising contract with the company Gugu and Dumile work for. While I couldn't blame Joe for wanting to get as far away from them as possible, at this point in the movie. I was finally invested in the outcome and wanted to see how everything would play out.
In the end, Mrs. Right Guy turned out to be an OK movie. It's certainly not perfect, but it has its moments. The movie explores the complexities of relationships involving attraction, rejection, and forgiveness. As well as workplace dynamics like power imbalances, competition, and conflicts of interest. I'm giving this movie Five Stars.
