Ellis in Glamor Land (2004)

Directed by: Pieter Kramer | 100 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Linda de Mol, Chris Tates, Joan Collins, Kees Hulst, Nelly Frijda, Tjebbo Gerritsma, Joan Nederlof, Horace Cohen, Tjitske Reidinga, Jacqueline Blom, Hylke de Haan, Ruben van der Meer, Fred Vaassen, Trudy de Jong, Walter crommelin

When you hear the title ‘Ellis in Glamourland’, you immediately think of the classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’, in which the girl Alice ends up in a fantasy world in her dream. The Dutch Ellis also ends up in a kind of daze when she registers with Joan Collins to marry a millionaire as soon as possible. A world of beautiful clothes, expensive cars and rich people opens up for her. Presumably here lies the parallel between the fairy tale about Alice and the film about Ellis, in addition to the possibility that the title was simply made up as a parodying joke.

It seems a bit strange that Linda de Mol, one of the richer women in the Netherlands, takes on a role as welfare mother. The reason for this is that she herself was closely involved in the development of the scenario. Linda has always wanted to play in a romantic comedy, so it was only natural that she would play the lead role of Ellis. She is certainly not bad, because pretty soon in the film you can put the annoying presenter of Loveletters out of your head. However, everything is pulled out of the closet to present the character Ellis as poor as possible and that caused some annoyance to this reviewer. For example, she lives in a working-class neighborhood where everyone hangs out on the street, she has a tiny bourgeois car, she carries typical shopping bags, she works as a waitress and as a cleaning lady and she has a son with spiky hair and glasses. That the rich in this film consist of caricatures is of course funny. For example, it is hilarious when the plastic surgery queen Marijke Helwegen comes into the picture.

‘Ellis in Glamourland’ is intended as a light, romantic comedy; It is therefore not really the intention to scrutinize the film too critically. But yes, there are still a few gaps in the film, which leave the viewer stuck afterwards. For example, Linda de Mol is distraught when she loses the receipt for her evening dress, because she wanted to return it after a gala party. What a drama, but how does this end? And how is it that poor Ellis soon walks around in the nicest fashionable creations, while she can’t afford them? She does receive a number of creations as gifts from a millionaire, but if she has to have sex in return, she returns them nicely.

In terms of atmosphere, ‘Ellis in Glamourland’ most closely resembles the production ‘Rather in love’. Apart from a few critical notes, this film is great for a fun night out with a few friends and then go on a relaxed millionaire hunt that same evening.