“South Africa needs to laugh”. So says Leon Schuster. With his latest feature film, Mad Buddies, he’s trying especially hard to address the national need. If a particular joke isn’t for you, don’t worry, there’ll be another one along shortly; Mad Buddies is fast, frenetic and permeated with a sense of fun.

Schuster stars as Boetie and shares the lead with Kenneth Nkosi, who plays Beast. The two men have a history of stepping on each other’s toes and when an altercation lands them on the wrong side of the minister of tourism (Alf Ntombela), they’re forced to team up and take part in an unusual reality show.

Without knowing they’re being filmed they have to walk from Kwazulu-Natal to Gauteng with no money and no assistance. An ambitious TV producer (Tanit Phoenix) keeps the action ticking over and the journey provides plenty of opportunity for slapstick shenanigans.  

Kenneth Nkosi is a newcomer to the Schuster stable; he’s got a good chemistry with Schuster and the two men make formidable comedic foils. Schuster’s usual collaborator, Alf Ntombela, operates mostly on his own during Mad Buddies and shows an admirable talent for physical comedy during the film’s regular cutaways.

In terms of jokes, they come thick and fast and most err on the side of family-friendly slapstick rather than toilet humour. Disney’s involvement may have something to do with this, although they’re not entirely successful at curbing Schuster’s scatological instincts. Particularly as the film goes on, one gets the sense that each gag is trying to top the last, resulting in some rather unfortunate detours into poor taste in the final act.

But it’s a rollicking ride to get there. After so many years in the industry, Schuster still brings a remarkable energy to the screen, while Kenneth Nkosi matches him with aplomb. The characters in Mad Buddies are some of Schuster’s most endearing, and it won’t be surprising to see more of them on our screens in the future. That is, assuming Mad Buddies is as successful as it’s almost certainly going to be. 

Mad Buddies is available on DStv BoxOffice from Mon 24 Sep to Wed 24 Oct.