Romcoms never get old. Even with the tried and tested formulas, some impress the audience, while some don’t. Today, Netflix released the new Dutch romantic comedy called Just Say Yes. Directed by Appie Boudellah, Aram van de Rest, the film stars Yolanthe Cabau, Huub Smit, Jim Bakkum, Noortje Herlaar, Edwin Jonker, Juvat Westendorp, Nienke Plas and Kim-Lian van der Meij. Read our review to know more.
The first shot shows a woman wearing a bridal gown running away. She then goes and sits at a bench where a stranger is talking on his phone. Her name is Lotte (Yolanthe Cabau), and we get to know that she is running away from the back-to-back tragedies happening in her life. She starts narrating her story to the stranger and also us.
Lotte works with a news channel. She is in a happy relationship with Alex (Juvat Westendorp), who works with her. Lotte is a big fan of romantic movies and hopes for a dream proposal from her boyfriend. While the proposal she got is not as grand as she had expected, she’s happy that there’s one. As she begins with the wedding preparations, things do go the way she expected them to.
Lotte has a sister named Estelle (Noortje Herlaar), a social media influencer who is rich AF! As described by Lotte, Estelle got a huge makeover and made herself look stunning. Chris (Jim Bakkum) joins Lotte and Alex’s office as a consultant for their channel to increase their ratings. Yes, it’s a love triangle. They also answer why Lotte was running wearing the bridal outfit, and it’s an interesting revelation. But I have some problems with Just Say Yes.
I thought we are done with movies showing a man acting mean and rude towards a woman only to make them fall in love later! While Alex is a jerk and totally unworthy of Lotte, Chris isn’t nice either. When he makes an entry in the story, he accidentally spills coffee on our leading lady. And guess what? He isn’t even apologetic about it. In fact, he gives her a smirk and walks away. How is that romantic or cute in any way?
Another problem is how submissive Lotte’s character is, to both Alex and Chris. The men will ask her to do anything, and she will. Whether it is taking the credits of her show idea or forcing her to be a host, it seems like Lotte has no say in her life. In one scene, Chris takes her bag and throws it in the trash because it is too old fashioned for him!
But there’s a character John (Edwin Jonker), Lotte, Alex and Chris’ boss, and Estelle’s boyfriend. Even though he has little screen time, he doesn’t appear problematic, is considerate, respectful and better than all the men who appeared in the movie. We are in 2021, and I don’t think most people believe that girls are interested in men who are arrogant and full of themselves. It doesn’t matter if they are good-looking.
Just Say Yes: Is it worth it?
Just Say Yes tries hard to be deeply romantic, but the lack of chemistry in the lead characters is a turn-off. The end of the love story is predictable. The performances and music are good. If the male characters weren’t badly written, it would have worked in the film’s favour. I liked the supporting characters (Lotte’s friends) more and their stories seemed more enjoyable.
Just Say Yes is currently streaming on Netflix.
For more such reviews, click here.