Les Rois de Mulberry Street: Au coeur de l'action

My young nephews are obsessed with Benidorm, the UK tv series. Not because of the big budgets or the tear jerking Oscar worthy performances, but because of the highs and lows of loveable characters - and because it's fun. Kings of Mulberry Street: Let Love Reign is the same; it's bright, it's colourful, it's funny, it's absurd. My nephews watched this and instantly understood the tone and what it's trying to do. I felt really sorry for poor Dev, caught between trying to do the best for his son's happiness and his own. Surrounded with colour and music and ridiculous antics, the importance of friends and family comes shining through. It is pure heartfelt family entertainment, what's not to like about that?

The original introduced the audience to the Chetty and Singh family, primarily focusing on the protagonists, Tiki and Baboo. With this one there are more local comedians that share the stage but unfortunately they are scripted so badly they appear one dimensional and the jokes fall flat. The first movie took its time to get the settings and ambiance just right to capture that feel of the late 80's, this one however doesn't. It's supposed to have been set 1993/4 but you have television sets that would not be released up until much later. You can clearly see that vehicle number plates in the background were white and the vehicles used in the forefront had yellow registration plates. The telephone set that appeared in the beginning was a black modern push button dial but fast forward it is later replaced with a very yellowed and visibly old Venus handset. There are lot's of discrepancies from the clothing and labels worn to the building architecture given away by the drone shots. The original movie had a lovely cartoonish villain played by the late and talented Neville Pillay. The villain here however was like a flush in the pan, forgettable, you even forget that he is in the movie. It's a very basic, rudimentary script that is so thin you can see from miles over whats going to transpire. Terrible attempt at a cash grab. The original wasn't that much better either but it was better than this. My favorite character was Monty played by Vaneshran Arumugam, the not so subtle brown noser. Kimberly Arthur also shows off her talent, playing the snotty love interest of Baboo, she's got some moves on her. It's a shame Senzo Mthethwa didn't get a bigger role, he is seriously underrated. Sagren however is going places. It was nice to see Bertha La Roux again, I didn't know she was so short, still as beautiful as ever though. The movie has it's moments, a moment. A solid 3.5 from me.

Look it's entertaining from the beginning till the end. Great to see a diverse crew representing the rainbow nation. I enjoyed the sights, sounds and tastes of Durban. While the plot is not the strongest point of the movie it's makes up for it by a banging soundtrack and beautiful locations. Of course the mandatory Durban bunny chow is worked into the story together with the Zola bud taxi, the samosas, jaleebi and burfee. Also saw the Toyota Corolla, Ford Sierra and the old TV with the bunny aerial, Walkman and VCR. Brought back memories of the 80s and 90s in Durban. Give it a watch you will be entertained!

My young nephews are obsessed with Benidorm, the UK tv series. Not because of the big budgets or the tear jerking Oscar worthy performances, but because of the highs and lows of loveable characters - and because it's fun. Kings of Mulberry Street: Let Love Reign is the same; it's bright, it's colourful, it's funny, it's absurd. My nephews watched this and instantly understood the tone and what it's trying to do. I felt really sorry for poor Dev, caught between trying to do the best for his son's happiness and his own. Surrounded with colour and music and ridiculous antics, the importance of friends and family comes shining through. It is pure heartfelt family entertainment, what's not to like about that?

The original introduced the audience to the Chetty and Singh family, primarily focusing on the protagonists, Tiki and Baboo. With this one there are more local comedians that share the stage but unfortunately they are scripted so badly they appear one dimensional and the jokes fall flat. The first movie took its time to get the settings and ambiance just right to capture that feel of the late 80's, this one however doesn't. It's supposed to have been set 1993/4 but you have television sets that would not be released up until much later. You can clearly see that vehicle number plates in the background were white and the vehicles used in the forefront had yellow registration plates. The telephone set that appeared in the beginning was a black modern push button dial but fast forward it is later replaced with a very yellowed and visibly old Venus handset. There are lot's of discrepancies from the clothing and labels worn to the building architecture given away by the drone shots. The original movie had a lovely cartoonish villain played by the late and talented Neville Pillay. The villain here however was like a flush in the pan, unforgettable, you even forget that he is in the movie. It's a very basic, rudimentary script that is so thin you can see from miles over whats going to transpire. Terrible attempt at a cash grab. The original wasn't that much better either but it was better than this. My favorite character was Monty played by Vaneshran Arumugam, the not so subtle brown noser. Kimberly Arthur also shows off her talent, playing the snotty love interest of Baboo, she's got some moves on her. It's a shame Senzo Mthethwa didn't get a bigger role, he is seriously underrated. Sagren however is going places. It was nice to see Bertha La Roux again, I didn't know she was so short, still as beautiful as ever though. The movie has it's moments, a moment. A solid 3.5 from me.