Bingen or skipping: F*ck Love
It took a bit of courage and fresh reluctance, but I dared to do it: I went for a Dutch romcom again. Why did that feel a bit heavy? Well, because the last romcom from Dutch soil was the Netflix Original Just Say Yes and that was... Really quite bad. I can't make anything else of it.
But I dared to do it again. F*ck de Liefde has been on Netflix since today and given that it's currently pouring rain, I was ready for a virtual trip to Curaçao. That's where F*ck de Liefde mostly takes place and where I would much rather be at the moment. But then the big question: is this film worth watching?
To begin with, this Dutch film has gathered all the actors that typically appear in romcoms. So we have Thijs Römer, Nicolette van Dam, Bo Maerten, Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen, Edwin Jonker, Victoria Koblenko, and Nienke Plas. And that's only about a quarter of the overall cast, because in between, Maradonnie also makes an appearance, just like Soundos el Ahmadi and a handful of other celebrities.
Seriously, I have the impression that in the last Dutch films, they just go on vacation to a tropical location with a group of celebrities and oh yes, in the meantime, shoot a film. See also: Verliefd op Cuba (on the level of Just Say Yes or even worse), Suriname, Verliefd op Ibiza, Toscaanse Bruiloft, and Onze Jongens in Miami, just to name a few.
Well, during this group vacation, they also shot a film, F*ck de Liefde, which actually has three storylines that eventually come together in some way. Lisa (Bo Maerten) is on Curaçao with her two friends as a distraction from her current divorce. There she has a clumsy first meeting with Jim (Thijs Römer), who is quite unconvincing as a rugged world traveler — to be fair — where she behaves like a spoiled brat and he gets a glass of wine thrown in his face. Normally (if I were to do that), the man in question would never want to see me again, but this is of course a romcom, so you know: these two will end up together. It also helps that Netflix has a photo of the couple on their streaming service for this film. Thanks for the spoilers, huh, Netflixie.
These two are endgame, that's clear. The people around them, like Nienke Plas, mostly play themselves just like in Just Say Yes, and Nicolette van Dam — whom I actually always find very nice and can really act — has, in my opinion, a way too small role. Rapper Negativ (whose real name is Maurits Delchot, I just learned) is the most enjoyable part of the whole film and he is also the only one who kind of grows as a person.
Unfortunately, F*ck de Liefde is also such a typical Dutch romcom where most of the jokes are just flat and vulgar. Is that really considered our level of humor? I'm a bit done with those jokes about viagra and one night stands.
Final verdict: I plan to go back to Curaçao when I can, so I enjoyed the visuals for that. A bit of vacation feeling. Furthermore, it actually feels like you're just opening a can of celebrities and watching their paid getaway. Final score: a 5.
To end on a positive note, I have another Dutch romcom tip that I actually really liked: Wat Is Dan Liefde. It's also on Netflix, with Elise Schaap and this film — yes, it exists — takes place in Amsterdam. In the Netherlands. And it has exactly zero jokes about viagra. Love it.
