Casanovas (2020)

Directed by: Jamel Aattache | 90 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Jim Bakkum, Birgit Schuurman, Lieke van Lexmond, Tygo Gernandt, Rienus Krul, Gaby Blaaser, Sergio Ijssel, Leo Alkemade, Juvat Westendorp, Jouman Fattal, Roeland Fernhout, John Buijsman

One of the best friends of filmmaker Jamel Aattache (‘Heavily in love!’, 2018) worked as a dating coach for several years. “He helped hundreds of men with their love lives,” says Aattache. “To this day, he still receives wedding invitations from his ex-students. He really changed lives… Mine too.” Aattache became so fascinated by the ‘dating coach’ phenomenon that he went ‘undercover’ with his friend for some time to do research. The intent was to do that for just a few months, but it ended up taking a number of years, with working on itself being a priority. “Women today are strong and independent and as a man you have to stand firm. As a result, a true decorating industry has arisen. Seduction and flirting courses are given and books are published on this subject. Many women (and men too) have the wrong idea about these courses. And that disappoints me. Because what’s wrong with learning how to deal with women? It is not second nature to everyone. The students come in all colors and shapes, fat and thin, handsome and ugly, short and tall, but at least they have one common denominator: they want to work on themselves.”

‘Casanova’s’ (2020) has therefore become a very personal story, although this romkom unfortunately remains stuck in clichés and predictability. The film focuses on thirty-year-old journalist Bas Maas (Jim Bakkum), whose shyness has stood in his way all his life. In the first scene we go fifteen years back in time, to a school party where the shy Bas does not dare to ask his great love Roos to dance if shuffling is allowed. A shame, of course, but most adolescents grow out of their insecurity. Not so Bas, whom we then see years later, still wearing the same thick glasses and an unstylish outfit, on his way to the editorial meeting where his editor-in-chief Chantal (Birgit Schuurman) will probably give him another thankless job. But Bas is surprised when he is assigned an undercover job: the pick-up guru who calls himself Don Marco (Tygo Gernandt) has published a new book and Chantal wants Bas – her most mushy colleague – to follow his course, so that he can reveal that it is is all deception. Bas reluctantly agrees, in the hope that he will soon be able to get better writing jobs, but is suddenly speechless when it turns out that his old childhood sweetheart Roos (Lieke van Lexmond) is Don Marco’s assistant.

The dating guru claims to be able to turn socially awkward men into true casanovas within three days. Naturally, Aattache serves up a few walking stereotypes: Leo Alkemade plays Erik, a sober accountant, who has been together with his childhood sweetheart since he was fifteen. She suddenly left him more than three years ago and he thinks it is time to pick up the thread again. Erik, however, has no idea how to handle that. Sergio Romero IJssel takes on the role of Roy, a flamboyant Antillean who likes to dress colorfully and make contact easily. But with women he finds attractive, he gets nervous. This makes him rattle, his voice shoots up an octave and uses his hands too much. Women regularly think that he likes men, so that Roy all too often ends up in the ‘friend zone’. And then there’s Wouter (Rienus Krul), who is 35 years old but has never been in a relationship. He is eager to share his life with someone, but is rather clumsy when dealing with people. The nice thing is that the slippery Don Marco does not get rid of it by teaching his students some simple decorating tricks, but mainly wants to let them work on their self-confidence. Of course Bas and his fellow colleagues first get a makeover (behind those thick glasses we really saw that Bas is not unattractive!), because that’s just part of a film like this. Don Marco is therefore not guilty of ordinary money grabs, although he does have a secret that he prefers to keep to himself.

The focus of the film is on Bas and his great love Roos. Because of course that spark will fly again, as if fifteen years had not passed. He does give a different name, but she recognizes him immediately. For the sake of convenience, Bas does not explain that he is participating in the course to expose Don Marco as a scammer. What if she finds out? In a sun-drenched and romantic Delfshaven, the two reminisce about the past. Of course we know what’s going to happen, because ‘Casanova’s’ is extremely predictable. It is up to the actors to let the viewer see through it, but Bakkum and Van Lexmond lack the ability to actually make their characters come to life. They are not unsympathetic – even the insufferable pick-up guru on paper turns out to be quite nice – but neither are they authentic and sincere. Because of that superficiality, ‘Casanova’s’ gets stuck in light-hearted and unpretentious entertainment for movie viewers who don’t set the bar too high.