Eksie Perfeksie – “A silly comedy that will make you cringe”

Eksie Perfeksie is a romantic comedy in which André (Pietie Beyers) moves in with Dalene (Emma van Heyn), only to discover that she’s still friends with all of her ex-boyfriends. The film was written and directed by Corné Koegelenberg (with concept credit to Bibi Slippers) and produced by Swartberg Storiehandelaars and Black Gosling.

The story revolves around Dalene’s pattern and André’s attempt to make sense of it, with the central theme and question being whether one can stay friends with their exes. There are plenty of comedic moments where André meets Dalene’s exes—each with their own quirks and consequences. Well-known faces like Bobby van Jaarsveld and Sean van Noordwyk appear as some of her former flames. But is the problem necessarily just with Dalene? I think the film could just as well have been called Eks’ie Perfeknie (“I’m Not Perfect Either”), as we should probably look at the plank in our own eye first.

Both lead actors were believable and, as the director intended, come across as very normal people with everyday problems. I’m just not so sure about Bobby and Sean’s characters—those “pecs” are far from normal for the average guy.

The soundtrack, mostly by Van Heyn, is well suited to the scenes, while certain editing sequences are cleverly done. And if you thought Lesotho was just a country—think again. Ever heard of a “safe word”? It reminded me of Fifty Shades of Grey! I also picked up quite a few new pet names.