Renesse (2016)

Directed by: Willem Gerritsen | 80 minutes | comedy | Actors: Niek Roozen, Martijn van Eijzeren, Simon Kindermans, Sam Doets, Sem Klarenbeek, Robert Kuipers, Yasmin Karssing, Martijn Lavrijssen, Ella-June Henrard, Florence Vos Weeda, Lisa Zweerman, Imme Steinmann, Carmen van Weersel, Marieke Burger, Jorik Scholten, Monica Geuze, Trudi Klever, Marck Oostra, Lili Kooijman, Daphne Zwoferink, Dragan Bakema, Peter Faber, Andrea Vos, Ferdi Stofmeel

“You have to pour the milk when it’s fresh,” Bas’s last words before grandpa dies and hands over to his grandson his photo album full of women he’s had sex with. Life is so over, so Grandpa’s advice is to hit on as many girls as possible while he can. When grandfather’s will instructs Bas and his cousin Thijs to scatter his ashes on the beach of Renesse, the boys and two friends book a holiday to make this last wish come true.

The coastal town in Zeeland is the Hersonissos of the Netherlands; a place where young people spend their summer partying wildly. Bas, Thijs and their friends Luca and Daniel are not popular in their daily lives and have never had a girlfriend. They seize their chance and hope to finally seduce a girl in Renesse.

The four boys form the most stereotypical group imaginable: Luca is the fat self-assured “cool” guy of the bunch, Daniel is the uber-nerd and does nothing but gaming, Thijs is too stupid for words but does everything for his friends and Bas is actually a very normal boy but so insecure that he lets everyone ignore him. Of course there is also the group of popular guests who are after the poor boys (one bad practical joke after another is reviewed), and the nice pretty girl (type: the girl next door) where both Bas and the big bully before falling.

The poster and the title say enough: you know in advance that it is not going to be an in-depth or beautifully stylized film. It gets flat and tacky with hopefully the occasional funny joke. ‘Renesse’ does not pretend to be more than that, but unfortunately the film is also unoriginal and superfluous in its kind. What still needs to be said is that the young actors hold their own fairly well and manage to portray touchingly uncomfortable teenagers. That’s pretty clever with such a thin story and a string of bad one-liners.