Chez Nous (Dutch)

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 straight, married glassblower who works across the street and feels more at home at the bar than anywhere else, much to his wife's annoyance since she's stuck home with their two kids. Things shift when Adje ends up hospitalized, and Bertie finds out the bar is basically broke, plus the club next door, run by the aggressive and somewhat homophobic De Beer, wants to buy the property to expand. To stop that from happening, they end up teaming up with someone unexpected, Bertie's actual biological father Helmer, whose identity Adje reveals from his deathbed, and it turns out this guy has a criminal history involving heists and robberies. Together they cook up a plan to steal a diamond necklace from the Royal Museum, which works out conveniently since Rachid is a security guard there and happens to have a crush on a coworker who's also De Beer's son. They plan to use the chaos of Amsterdam's Gay Pride, with its canal parade and wildly dressed crowds, as cover for the whole thing. The heist itself plays out with plenty of laughs, and they actually manage to pull it off, though a surprise twist makes it look like they've lost everything, before it all works out fine for everyone in the end.

There's a pretty big cast here like I laid out above, and the film does take a bit to get everyone established, but every one of them ends up mattering in some way. Once the heist gets planned out and they start running practice sessions, everything really starts clicking. The actual theft ends up weaving together this theme of a father and son building trust and trying to form a real bond with each other. Alongside all that, there's also this subplot where the lawyer who hangs around the bar clearly has feelings for Bertie, who has no clue about it at all. The climax is a blast too, with a chaotic car chase squeezed through Amsterdam's narrow streets, and their arrival at the auction house ties all the different storylines together in a clever way. Overall the film is going for a message about acceptance and hits that from a few different angles, while still leaning into some gay stereotypes for laughs along the way. It's bright, colorful, and packed with enough laughs to keep you entertained throughout. You can tell the whole cast was having a genuinely good time making it. I enjoyed how Bertie makes up with his father, and also finds love in lawyer. The way Rachid confesses his love to his colleague and how they finally kiss in front of homophobic father, who eventually reluctantly comes to terms with it was also done well in its own way. I never would've guessed a gay heist comedy could work this well as a concept, but this one nailed it, such a good time. And who doesn't enjoy a happy ending for everyone? (7/10)