Went in with zero expectations, but this charming old comedy turned out to be a genuinely fun ride. Combining gay characters, a pride parade, and a heist plot in one movie sounds like a recipe that could easily fall apart, but when it's pulled off right, like it is here, you end up with something that feels satisfying and delivers exactly the kind of simple entertainment it promises. The setting is Chez Nouz, a gay cafe tucked into the heart of Amsterdam, run by an older guy named Adje who acts as a stand in father figure for Bertie, the bar's main drag performer, a guy who never actually knew his real dad and has spent years fantasizing that he might secretly be the son of some famous Dutch singer. Their little makeshift family also includes Babette, the straight waitress, and Rachid, a regular who Adje took under his wing and gave a room to after his own family kicked him out for being gay. The bar's other regulars include Peter-Jan, a good looking gay lawyer, and Gijs, a...
There are two parallel stories going on. Two students are taking film classes in a university. One of them hopes to become an actor while the other is looking for a director career. They had an initial argument and cant stand each other but many times they are forced to work together on acting projects. Ice of the guys sister is writing a BL novel because somehow she thinks these two guys make for a great couple. Somehow the brother starts worrying that everything that his sister is writing will come true. The boys slowly start to feel attracted towards each other. This story was actually funny in parts especially when you see their naughty interactions but it suffers majorly from bad editing. It was becoming hard to keep up with what their exact feelings for one another were. Also eventually when they start liking each other, did they really like one another or was it the sister writing a BL effect? We would never know!
Then there is this other couple where they both like each other but somehow they are both scared to share their feelings. From what I could gather, one of them thinks that the other one is in love with his best friend, so he keeps his distance. This story didn't make too much sense to me, but the actors here had great chemistry and actually looked very cute. Their romance was soft with loving glances thrown at each other, eyes screaming love but neither willing to take the first step. Having said that, I completely do not endorse the scene when one of them gets drunk and the other just starts kissing him. This is just not done. Erratic editing also hampers this story but at least the chemistry was nice.
Overall I enjoyed the cute banter of the first couple and the traditional lovey dover romance where they are willing to sacrifice love for friendship was the only good thing about the show. Other than that , the story and setting and editing was way off. I didn't enjoy the show as much and was just waiting for it to end. At one point I was like, Why am I even watching this. (4/10)
Comments
Too bad they couldn't work on the romance and the characters believable reactions better (they do change up their minds from a scene to the next one...). Somehow felt like the plot is just an excuse to stupid fun, and I like it that way sometimes. I didn't really like the thai version so I was afraid before I started this one, but the added humourous writting here totally worked for me.