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Just my luck. I finally find the time to go see the sneak preview showing in my home town and it turns out to be this film. I’m no big fan of Dutch cinema and have argued before that all movies made here are either about World War II or sex. Flirt fall into the second category.
Egbert Jan Weeber plays Lex, who falls in love with Ankie (Lidewij Mahler) but refuses to break up with his two other girlfriends on the side. Ankie will have to live with the fact she’s “number one” instead of “the only one”. Meanwhile, a documentary filmmaker is shooting her next project, a film about fear of commitment in men. It might sound like this movie raises serious issues about monogamy, but it doesn’t really. It only flirts with the underlying issues briefly and then goes back to being an utterly lightweight comedy.
The first 15 minutes of this movie really had me wondering whether this was how I was going to spend my evening, but things picked up a bit and about halfway through my friend and I decided we’d sit this one out. Not because we were particularly curious how events would unfold though. We both just have a thing for bad movies.
With a surprise at the end that I predicted halfway through and decent enough performances from most of the cast (comedian Javier Guzman should stick to stand-up), this movie is hard to rate. It’s a little like easy listening music. It starts, it ends, the bit inbetween is bearable to watch but you forget about it the minute you walk out of the elevator … err… cinema.
Roy (114 posts)Web designer and programmer, movie fanatic and devoted dad from Huizen, The Netherlands.
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Well, Off Screen is neither about sex OR war!
But, I had to endure Flirt as my first sneak preview in Lux of 2005 (and the worst thing was: the next week, I had to actually discuss it in front of people).
Anyway: what struck me most was the amount of storylines (that are all a bit shallow) and the fact it is f*cking summer for 8 consecutive weeks or the timespan within the movie
The camera work was kinda nice (especially the primary colors during the boat scenes).
But my verdict: a soap opera with motion picture length…
Comment by arjan — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 15:30Summer for 8 weeks? What’s unrealistic about that? In ER it’s Christmas 6 times a year!
Comment by suzero — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 17:42well, my guess is the story takes place in about 6-8 weeks and it is sunny and over 30 degrees ALL days…. the main characters walk in their sleeveless shirts and bikinis ALL the time…
Comment by arjan — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 18:21And a 50 second countdown in James Bond takes 3 minutes real time… this is poetic licence… nah, Arjan, I’m just teasing you… I can get pissed off at inaccuracies too, but it is POSSIBLE that they had a particularly good summer…
Comment by suzero — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 18:51there is a great website about these clichés:
http://www.moviecliches.com
some I noticed:
Comment by arjan — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 19:35- computer systems always have very fancy interfaces
- passwords can be cracked in 2 tries at a maximum
- whenever there is a car chase there is always either a truck (very often carrying lumber wood or gas) blocking the way or cars start using there horns…
- car keys don’t exist in most movies: people just hop in and start revving up right away
- whenever there is zoomed in on a seemlessly irrelevant object, that object will ALWAYS come back as a pivotal element in the story…
Don’t forget how computer screens make noise in movies. I love that. I want my next screen to make hi-tech noises when displaying lines of text letter by letter
Oh and the car keys must be in the ignition, because it takes actors less than a second to start the car, strap in and drive off…
Comment by weefselkweekje — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 20:25I often think about that when I get in my car and have to put on my seatbelt, take off the steering lock, insert the radio, stick the tomtom navigator holder to the window, plug in the GPS receiver and the charger, switch on bluetooth on my phone so I can use my bluetooth hands-free head set, edge my way out of a tiny Amsterdam parking space and THEN drive off to escape the psycho killer on my tail.
Ever get the feeling that all these time-saving devices aren’t saving us any time?
Comment by suzero — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 22:11Suz, you just described the reason why I can’t drive a car, aside from the fact I won’t be much of an asset to the road…
Comment by arjan — Mon February 7, 2005 @ 23:09We’re getting sidetracked here, but all of those gadgets in your car is extra funny. I guess the electronics triple the value of your vehicle when you get in, right?
Comment by weefselkweekje — Tue February 8, 2005 @ 8:30Easily
My car is so old, just filling it up with petrol doubles the value.
Comment by suzero — Tue February 8, 2005 @ 9:29why was Pixar’s ‘Cars’ postponed to 2006? (hey: it IS movie related!)
Comment by arjan — Tue February 8, 2005 @ 10:06