Project Gio (2019)

Directed by: Bas van Teylingen | 90 minutes | comedy | Actors: Gio Latooy, Belle Zimmerman, Niek Roozen, Melanie Latooy, Vincent Visser, Rienus Krul, Max van den Burg, Rutger de Bekker, Marcel Latooy, Louise Latooy, Ruud Smulders, Steye van Dam, Maaike Martens

Gio Latooy (21) is one of the most popular YouTubers in the Netherlands, with more than 1 million subscribers. The influence and reach of this smooth lad (ok, boomer) can only be underestimated by people without children and Maarten van Rossem, but this aside. A movie was in the offing, and here it is. ‘Project Gio’ is populated by the usual suspects from the YouTube videos, such as twin sister Melanie and both parents. Acting remains a profession, but that too is no problem for these real-lifers.

Well, it’s fiction, at least to the viewer. Gio’s parents are going on vacation and our hero is going to take advantage of that. Before we know it, he has all his friends over and the parental home turns into a mess. Not so chill, bro. And then he is also falsely accused of theft by his employer, a hardware store whose name is not really hidden from the viewer. Unnecessarily, he tries to seduce his colleague Tamara (Zimmerman).

Gio has to deal with a friend who just won’t leave (Roozen), and two hired handymen who sit in the bath all day, with bath foam from an undisclosed, expressly portrayed brand. No problem for the watching kiddos, they ask their parents for the same stuff. Meanwhile, our hero continues to smile angelically as if a razor never went over his toes. Television director Bas van Teylingen, also responsible for ‘De Film van Dylan Haegens’ (2018), directs.

Admittedly, a film has to be judged on the target group and in that respect ‘Project Gio’ surfs with ease with the popularity of the person in question. But the story is very thin, and the jokes one-dimensional. Undoubtedly this has to do with the All Ages category in which the film can be placed – a parent cannot fall for this film, but some substantive development could have been expected given the level of the traditional Dutch youth film. Maybe something for the sequel.