Johan Nijenhuis strikes again
In his 2014 movie Toscaanse Bruiloft, Johan Nijenhuis does exactly what you would expect from him. In a beautiful scenery, he creates a weird romantic comedy in which dogs get shot, women get threatened with knives and pasta carabonara is served with cream. There is however one bright side in the movie.
The movie revolves around a group of friends who appear to have all had sex with each other and are eager to get married. Sanne is the wedding planner who is supposed the get this done, Jeroen is the semi- douche bag leader of this group. The fact that Jeroen is so unsympathetic makes it hard to enjoy the obvious and predictable ending - that he gets married to Sanne.
While everybody is getting married (during the movie the viewer witnesses no less than four weddings), a series of bizarre events takes place. The dog of the alcoholic Bella gets shot to death, the apparently psychopathic Koos threatens to stab a woman when she refuses to have sex with him and it turns out - surprise surprise - that Jeroen has had sex with the bride. The most shocking part was the totally unnecessary death of one of the most lovable characters. He leaves behind a depressed widow and the movie just continues.
In this film, director Johan Nijenhuis succeeds in doing what he always does: creating a romantic comedy which lacks both romance and comedy.
I've decided to rate this movie based on ten criteria.
1. Scenario. The scenario is very confusing. There are too many things going on, too many weddings and some very unsatisfying deaths. No star. 2. Script. The dialogues were sloppy and not funny. Main character Jeroen just keeps on popping one-liners that just don't make any sense. Again no star. 3. Camera-work. Excellent. Tuscany is portrayed beautifully - the cameramen have really done a good job. A star for this. 4. Actors. The casting was fine, the women were beautiful. The actors played parts that suited them. A star for this. 5. Acting. The acting was dramatic - but not in the good way. It was literally horrible. The main character was by far the worst actor. No stars. 6. Characters. There was almost no character development, no stars. 7. Stage setting and clothing. This was fine. The clothes and the scenery were fine, I'll give it one star. 8. Music. Half a star. The Italian music was a nice touch in the beginning, but when the same song is played four times, the originality of it ceases to exist. 9. Authenticity. The film had four weddings and a funeral, and on top of that it really resembles 'The wedding planner.' Again no stars. 10. Goodwill Factor. No, Johan Nijenhuis, No...
This adds up to three-and-a-half stars, which seems too much for this film. The only bright side I spoke of is that this will hopefully be the last Johan Nijenhuis film.
In his 2014 movie Toscaanse Bruiloft, Johan Nijenhuis does exactly what you would expect from him. In a beautiful scenery, he creates a weird romantic comedy in which dogs get shot, women get threatened with knives and pasta carabonara is served with cream. There is however one bright side in the movie.
The movie revolves around a group of friends who appear to have all had sex with each other and are eager to get married. Sanne is the wedding planner who is supposed the get this done, Jeroen is the semi- douche bag leader of this group. The fact that Jeroen is so unsympathetic makes it hard to enjoy the obvious and predictable ending - that he gets married to Sanne.
While everybody is getting married (during the movie the viewer witnesses no less than four weddings), a series of bizarre events takes place. The dog of the alcoholic Bella gets shot to death, the apparently psychopathic Koos threatens to stab a woman when she refuses to have sex with him and it turns out - surprise surprise - that Jeroen has had sex with the bride. The most shocking part was the totally unnecessary death of one of the most lovable characters. He leaves behind a depressed widow and the movie just continues.
In this film, director Johan Nijenhuis succeeds in doing what he always does: creating a romantic comedy which lacks both romance and comedy.
I've decided to rate this movie based on ten criteria.
1. Scenario. The scenario is very confusing. There are too many things going on, too many weddings and some very unsatisfying deaths. No star. 2. Script. The dialogues were sloppy and not funny. Main character Jeroen just keeps on popping one-liners that just don't make any sense. Again no star. 3. Camera-work. Excellent. Tuscany is portrayed beautifully - the cameramen have really done a good job. A star for this. 4. Actors. The casting was fine, the women were beautiful. The actors played parts that suited them. A star for this. 5. Acting. The acting was dramatic - but not in the good way. It was literally horrible. The main character was by far the worst actor. No stars. 6. Characters. There was almost no character development, no stars. 7. Stage setting and clothing. This was fine. The clothes and the scenery were fine, I'll give it one star. 8. Music. Half a star. The Italian music was a nice touch in the beginning, but when the same song is played four times, the originality of it ceases to exist. 9. Authenticity. The film had four weddings and a funeral, and on top of that it really resembles 'The wedding planner.' Again no stars. 10. Goodwill Factor. No, Johan Nijenhuis, No...
This adds up to three-and-a-half stars, which seems too much for this film. The only bright side I spoke of is that this will hopefully be the last Johan Nijenhuis film.