SUBSCRIBE
F O R T R E S S
No Result
View All Result
  • MOVIES
  • TV
  • GAMING
  • TECH
  • COMICS
  • CULTURE
    • BOOKS
    • TOYS
    • SNEAKERS
    • INTERNET
  • VIDEO
  • WIN
Fortress of Solitude
  • MOVIES
  • TV
  • GAMING
  • TECH
  • COMICS
  • CULTURE
    • BOOKS
    • TOYS
    • SNEAKERS
    • INTERNET
  • VIDEO
  • WIN
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
Fortress of Solitude
No Result
View All Result

Van Der Merwe Movie Review

Home > Movies > Van Der Merwe Review – Do Not Watch This Film!

Van Der Merwe Review – Do Not Watch This Film!

Daniel RombyDaniel Rom
February 13, 2018
in Movies
Tags: Movie ReviewMovies
ShareTweetSend

I am a great proponent for South African film and television, but it sure doesn’t make it easy for me to love it. For every step forward, we seem to take one or two back. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, as my father would say. I even have a soft spot for the Afrikaner Romantic Comedy – a storehouse of clichés that can nevertheless be very soft, endearing, and even funny in the right hands. Van Der Merwe is none of these things and is actually on the borderline of being offensively cringey and terrible.

Van Der Merwe

This movie is actually about the character Van Der Merwe, whose name is used South Africa in-jokes as a placeholder for “stereotypical dumb Afrikaner male.” That’s right, an actual stereotype got made into a movie. The marketing even plays this up – mentioning that Ireland has got “Paddy” and Israel has got “Hymie” and South African has “Van Der Merwe.” Just because each country has its own aggressively non-funny stereotype for boring jokes doesn’t mean we need one you know!

And yet, Van Der Merwe might still have been saved if it some decent gags. However, it does not. The plot features Van (van Vuuren) as a suffering husband and father, whose daughter (Swart) returns home from England with a British fiancée – much to the horror of Van’s father, played by Roberts. The comedy is meant to come from this clash of cultures, as well as the dinosaur-like responses of the family, owing to the cultural memory of genocide attempted against them by the British. I exaggerate, but still. It’s just so darn boring. Fanie Fourie’s Lobola was a much better rom-com about cultural divides being bridged by love in South Africa, and even when it used clichés it used them warmly. This film does not.

Van Der Merwe - Movie Review

Rob van Vuuren is a consummate comedian and is generally quite good, even playing parody characters (See: Stone Cold Jane Austen) but he is wasted here. Roberts does his best with what he’s given, but he seems to be playing an idea of an Afrikaner man rather than a real person.

A Van Der Merwe with some of the comedic timing and wit of even a Mr Bean episode could have held together better, instead of this limp and insipid mess. Do not watch it, do not buy it, and do not encourage these people to make another film.

ShareTweetSend

FOLLOW US

ADVERTISEMENT

POPULAR

  • The 15 Most Powerful Characters In The Marvel Universe

    The 15 Most Powerful Characters In The Marvel Universe

    26 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The 15 Most Powerful Anime Characters Of All Time

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • #CancelHenryCavill Trends After Trolls Learn That Henry Cavill Dated Gina Carano

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 12 Most Powerful Characters In The DC Universe

    146 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Dr Seuss Cancelled Due To Racist Imagery

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Coming 2 America Review
Movies

Coming 2 America Isn’t the Eddie Murphy Show and That’s OK

March 5, 2021
Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Sequel No One Wanted
Movies

Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Sequel No One Wanted

byStaff Writer
February 27, 2021
The Wizard of Oz - 1939
Movies

The Wizard of Oz Remake to be Directed by Nicole Kassell

byStaff Writer
February 22, 2021
Wrong Turn 2021 Review
Movies

Wrong Turn 2021 Review – Horror Returns To The Woods

bySergio Pereira
February 22, 2021
i care a lot review
Movies

I Care A Lot Review – Unnerving & Wildly Entertaining

February 19, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments 1

  1. Charles Lumley says:
    2 years ago

    I thought it was Hilarious !!!!

    Reply

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude has become one of the most popular geek entertainment interest websites in South Africa and covers news and reviews on movies, games, comic books, gadgets, TV series, toys, sneakers and more.

The articles on Fortress of Solitude are written by a group of talented, professional and experienced freelance writers, all experts and leaders in their various fields.

Categories

  • Board Games
  • Books
  • Comic Books
  • Competitions
  • Gaming
  • Internet
  • Movies
  • Podcast
  • Sneakers
  • Tech
  • Toys
  • TV Series

Newsletter

Sign up for news in your inbox.

  • For more information on COVID-19
  • About Us
  • Authors
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy & Site Disclaimer
  • Contact Fortress of Solitude

© 2021 Fortress of Solitude, a division of Fortress Entertainment. Registered in South Africa. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Latest
  • Home
  • Movies
  • Gaming
  • Comic Books
  • Tech
  • TV
  • Toys
  • Sneakers
  • Win
  • Video
  • Fortress Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS Feeds
  • Privacy & Site Disclaimer

© 2021 Fortress of Solitude, a division of Fortress Entertainment. Registered in South Africa. All Rights Reserved.