Housewives Don’t Exist 2 (2019)

Directed by: Aniëlle Webster | 105 minutes | comedy | Actors: Jelka van Houten, Eva van de Wijdeven, Loes Luca, Leo Alkemade, Kay Greidanus, Leopold Witte, Jim Bakkum, Fred van Leer, Tina de Bruin, Henry van Loon, Patrick Martens, Robert de Hoog, Leny Breederveld

Among the piles of romantic comedies that are released annually in our country, ‘Housewives don’t exist’ (2017) stood out in a positive way two years ago. Not because the story was so brilliantly put together or original, but because of the appealing characters who struggled with issues that all women have (had) to deal with. Recognition was the great asset, in addition to the strong acting by leading actresses Jelka van Houten, Loes Luca and Eva van de Wijdeven. The film was based on ‘The Housewife Monologues’, the 2013 novel by writer and columnist Sylvia Witteman – who, incidentally, did not receive the credits on the credits – which Rick Engelkes translated to first the theater and later the silver screen. And now there’s ‘Housewives Don’t Exist 2’ (2019), not so much a sequel but a film that follows the same three women in their everyday existence, only now a few years later. The screenplay is again by Richard Kemper (‘Veldhuis & Kemper’) and the director is Aniëlle Webster, who was also responsible for the first film and who has had a busy year; two months ago, another Dutch romkom directed by her was released, ‘Wat is then Liefde’ (2019).

In ‘Pets do not exist 2′ we can once again take a look at the life of flower power mother Loes (Loes Luca) and her daughters Marjolein (Jelka van Houten) and Gijsje (Eva van de Wijdeven). Loes also has (young) male attention not to complain but is starting to get a little tired of tinder. The generation gap with boys like Boy (Robert de Hoog), who is at least half as young, is now really noticeable and Loes is actually beginning to long for someone her own age. When Bernd (Leopold Witte), a self-help book writer and self-proclaimed life coach, crosses her path, she’s sold. Gijsje is now the mother of a son, but is still a perfectionist and ambitious. She has her boyfriend Jasper (Kay Greidanus) firmly under her thumb and she is also in control of the advertising agency where she works. Her agency appears to be in the running for an important award and that only puts Gijsje on edge. But whether her environment is so happy about that…? Marjolein happily dabbles with her three children and her blog about life as a housewife and mother. However, she gets upset when she reads mysterious messages from a woman on her husband’s phone. Is her Huib (Leo Alkemade) having an affair? The fire in their relationship has cooled down quite a bit, so she first tries to stoke things up with exciting (but rather complicated) lingerie and sex toys, but that only backfires. So she decides to follow Huib. What she then finds does not make her happy to say the least…

We all just do whatever, that’s the underlying motto of ‘Housewives don’t exist’ (both part 1 and part 2!). It’s about women who look like ourselves, or someone we know. Women who try to keep all balls high, who run a family and a household, who also work (and want to be taken seriously in their work), who want to be there for their partner, family and friends. There must also be exercised in between and that all has to be done with a smile. ‘Housewives don’t exist 2’ doesn’t make fun of it, but holds up a mirror to women: see yourself slogging and struggling. One (Gijsje) desperately tries to maintain the perfect picture (certainly towards the outside world), the other (Marjolein) has long since let go of that ideal image and is bumbling through life. And Loes, who always led a licentious life, comes to the realization that in retrospect she might have done things differently. These are women who could have been your neighbor. They are also played wonderfully by Van de Wijdeven, Van Houten and Luca. Van Houten in particular is on a roll; she has the best one-liners and is great at shooting herself. In these kinds of roles, she is certainly not inferior to her famous older sister Carice. The supporting roles are also nicely filled in, with Alkemade as the sometimes somewhat silly Huib and Fred van Leer and Patrick Martens as a gay couple befriended by Marjolein, who makes a crucial contribution in the final act. In even smaller roles we see Henry van Loon, Jim Bakkum, Tina de Bruin, Leny Breederveld, Sabri Saad El-Hamus and screenwriter Richard Kemper, among others.

‘Housewives don’t exist 2’ doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and is occasionally guilty of trite jokes (the situation with the sex toy, for example, was not necessary), but just like the first part, this film also offers a celebration of recognition for women in general and mothers in particular. Realistic characters, portrayed by three outstanding actresses. Let yourself be dragged into the lives of Marjolein, Loes and Gijsje and worry and wrestle with them. Just the realization that you are not the only one who is always and eternally looking for peace, overview and balance in your life is a reassuring realization!