Lobola Man is about Ace Ngubeni, a lobola negotiator who helps other families for the right price. The film is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
Ace Ngubeni spent his childhood waiting in the car while his father was out cheating on his mother.
He grew up to be a player just like his dad, but he also had a side business. He was a professional Lobola negotiator.
Ace would pretend to be a member of the groom’s family and negotiate the lobola, or the “bride price”, on their behalf.
Duke is one of the founders of a popular dating app and he is set to marry Zandi, a very bossy yet beautiful woman.
Zandi comes from a wealthy family and her father, Mr. Zungu, is a respected judge so Duke feels very nervous about the lobola negotiations.
He is afraid that his family will embarrass him and ruin his chances with Zandi. His friend Themba gives him Ace’s card and tells him to speak the professional.
Duke’s PA, Rachel, doesn’t think it’s a good idea to speak to a con man but Duke is desperate.
Ace is out with his friend Siphiwe at the club when he sees a beautiful woman and tries to hit on her.
She rebuffs his advances and this just makes Ace even more determined to find out who she is.
Duke meets Ace and tells him that he doesn’t want his parents involved. Ace isn’t so sure about such a difficult case but he agrees to do it.
Zandi asks Duke about his family member that he canceled their lunch date for and Duke says he was meeting his cousin, Ace.
He suggests a meeting between them and Ace thinks it is a good idea for the negotiations. However, he arrives early and realizes that Zandi is the woman he tried to hit on.
They don’t get along with each other and Ace reconsiders helping Duke because he finds Zandi unbearable but also irresistible.
Zandi complains about Ace to her friend and even she feels drawn to him for some reason. Her friend believes that she has seen Ace before but she cannot place where.
Ace eventually agrees to help Duke and they speak to Mr. Zungu about Duke’s intentions for his daughter.
He invites them for a fishing trip and Duke agrees, even though he cannot swim and is afraid of the water.
He ends up getting motion sickness and passes out from the medication. Ace spends the trip bonding with Zandi and Mr. Zungu.
He tells Zandi about his upbringing and how he didn’t have the same experiences she had.
Duke gets an allergic reaction to the medication and is all loopy from the antibiotics so Zandi says they can stay over at her house.
While Ace tries to drag Duke to the bed, Duke rambles on about his love and then says that he cares deeply about Rachel.
Ace cannot get more out of him and drops the issue. The next day, Duke gets a call and he has to head to work on a project.
He tells Ace that he can stay behind, and then Zandi mentions that one of her clients is performing in town.
When Ace finds out that the client is the musician Kwesta, he is thrilled to attend. Mr. Zungu tells Ace and Duke that they can start the negotiations the following weekend.
Ace attends the Kwesta concert with Zandi and they both have a great time partying and getting drunk.
They talk about their feelings and about taking risks and almost kiss each other. Duke spends the night working on his presentation with Rachel.
He feels a connection to her but he wants to be faithful to Zandi, and Rachel is disappointed that she doesn’t get the kind of attention from him that she wants.
Ending explained:
Setting the game plan
Ace gets Duke to recruit one of his family members and he enlists two people of his own to pose as Duke’s relatives.
Duke calls his Aunt Miriam, and Ace gets a gambler to be his Uncle Long John and an actor named Bra Biza to be his uncle.
Ace tries his best to train Long John, Miriam, and Bra Biza to play their roles to perfection when the time comes.
The truth comes out
Duke, Ace, and the rest arrive for the negotiations but it doesn’t start so well. When Mr. Zungu’s family asks for 20,000, Ace says that it is lower than what Zandi deserves.
He steps out to speak to Ace and runs into Zandi’s friend. The friend suddenly realizes where she has seen Ace and tells Zandi.
Zandi walks up to Duke and Ace and asks if it is true. Duke is unable to hold on to the secret any longer and Zandi mentions that Ace almost kissed her.
Duke punches Ace but they have to get out of there quickly after their facade is revealed.
Falling in love
Ace spends the next few months wallowing in self-pity at his house and Siphiwe has to talk some sense into him.
Ace then visits his father and tells him that it was his behavior that made Ace the way he is. Ace’s father says that his love was complicated, but that Ace shouldn’t give up on love because of that.
Duke visits Ace and tells him that he is forgiven for everything that happened. He then mentions that he is getting married to Rachel and wants Ace at the negotiations as a friend.
Ace agrees and later goes to Zandi’s house to profess his love. She isn’t there but Mr. Zungu says that he dropped her off at the airport so he might have a chance of catching her.
Ace gets on the plan and tells Zandi that he loves her and she reciprocates his feelings.
They later attend Duke and Rachel’s wedding where someone else asks Ace to be his Lobola Man.
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