Review Candy & Bonita – Review on FilmTotaal

Director: Roman nienke | Script: Roman nienke | Cast: Sanne Langelaar (Tilly Reijnders), Fockeline Ouwerkerk (Marieke Jongeling), Frederik Brom (Barry), David Lucieer (Ivo), Jeroen van Koningsbrugge (Nick), Bobbi Eden (Paloma) and others | Time to play: 97 minutes | Year: 2023

The idea that Dutch films still deal with female nudity is greatly exaggerated. That may have been the norm in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, but Dutch cinema has been pretty decent since the turn of the century. Evidence for this is provided by candy and prettywhich revolves around the production of a porn movie but is very familiar.

This may be due to focus. Brides Tilly (Amsterdam’s least assertive waitress) and Marieke (happily married but deprived of a healthy sex life since the birth of twins) want to make a women’s porn film. The reason is a bit hazy (the final product should serve as a treat for users of a yet-to-be-installed online sex platform for women) but it provides a good foundation for a light comedy that has a surprising number of similarities to the kevin smith movie Zack and Miri make a porn.

But then with considerably less female nudity. Where Smith chose a professional porn actress for some explicit scenes remains candy and pretty remarkably good at all times. Maybe that’s not meant to scare the intended female audience too much, but wouldn’t it have been smart to go the other extreme? Now there are some who show their breasts so prominently, but when some men drop their pants, it is filmed from an angle where nothing can be seen.

Tilly and Marike initially just want to act as producers, but due to a lack of money for professional actors, they decide to take their clothes off themselves. Narratively that works well, because it means they have to push their limits, but in terms of content it’s a bit of a murky choice. The film puts on the agenda that men and women in the porn industry do not always receive the same remuneration. Therefore, audit actresses have joined in a union (called Fuckbond, haha) and refuse to cooperate without market-based compensation. Very good of them.

But when the budget only accommodates one professional, a man is immediately hired. Apparently Tilly and Marieke can play the female roles themselves. So much for the statement about professionalism. Wouldn’t it have been better to spend the money on a female porn star and round up all the men in her social circle for the unpaid roles? Thematically, it would be nice to see men with solid confidence in their sexual performance lose out to a professional woman.

What doesn’t help is that the actor was cast by his big man while being completely unintelligible. It’s certainly fun to see Jeroen van Koningsbrugge in this role (he’s completely incomprehensible, but still gives the impression that he’s really saying something), but what can you do with someone who can’t articulate the feminine sympathy expected in the film? production? Is it only reflected in history? Admittedly, that story hardly seems to transcend your average doctor’s novel, even though a professional writer is responsible for it. A male, of course.

It is also questionable why pornography for women should be made if necessary. Tilly and Marieke don’t seem to have an aversion to the usual variant, while the porn call is precisely a reaction to it. The technical approach is also completely absent in the implementation. On set, the ladies are never concerned with how the sex scenes should be filmed. The only comment about how something is portrayed comes from a bed partner who doesn’t appreciate the fact that the gay cameraman shows his buttocks full of him.

Also, it’s a shame that sex is completely obsessed with romance. For example, Marieke is alone with her husband and Tilly with someone she doesn’t like and… well, anyone who’s ever seen a rom-com knows where this is going. All perfectly logical for an easily digestible feel-good movie, but that ignores the fact that porn is basically acting.

That candy and pretty It’s not a complete lack, it’s largely due to the likeable leading roles of Sanne Langelaar and Fockeline Ouwerkerk, who have a nice dynamic. They’re both in their mid-forties, which would make them old enough in the porn industry for MILF status, but thankfully the movie never makes an issue of their age. It’s also a good idea to cast porn star Bobbi Eden as a slightly too mundane babysitter who always keeps her clothes on, but doesn’t have the acting chops to really bring her character to life.

candy and pretty It’s not a terrible movie, but it ignores any potential exploration of its subject matter, which raises the question of whether writer-director Nienke Römer knows exactly what porn for women entails. With low expectations, her movie is still the best to watch, but below the line it’s a missed opportunity. The premise should have resulted in something much smarter or raunchier. Or both.