Alibi

If you've seen movies from director Johan Nijenhuis you know what to expect. A movie with a really shallow story about love that isn't brought that well and tries to make up for it by being funny. Well, this movie isn't very different, except for the fact that most of the time it isn't that funny. there is, however, one pleasant surprise. Achmed Akkabi, who is well-known in Holland for his commercials for a big supermarket, is a reasonable and funny actor. He plays Youssef, a guy who gives alibi's to people who are having an affair. This professional liar falls in love with a waitress, Andrea, who is sick and tired of lying men. The waitress is played by Georgina Verbaan, a mediocre actress at best. The scenes where these two play together are cheesy and in my opinion just awful. The only funny scenes in the movie are the ones where Youssef arranges Alibi's for his clients. This is mostly because Akkabi has great chemistry with Egbert Jan Weber who plays one of his colleagues. To summarize all this, don't go see this movie if you want to see a good movie. Only watch it if you're in for one or two laughs and don't care for a surprising story, great acting or good cinematography. The score is pretty good though

Achmed Akkabi is the new Sacha Baron Cohen. With his funny expressions he is the star of this movie. Verbaan is great to watch as the waitress who happens to have a bad year. If you like the Eddie Murphy comedies, go see this Dutch film. My favorite scene: The one where Achmed watches a striptease dancer shoot ping pong balls... then she's about to use her next prop, and that is when he realizes what the banana he is holding is meant for.

The parachute drop is funny- just when you think he's safe after falling into a tree, the mad dogs come after him. If you want to impress your friends with movie buff taste, Alibi won't serve you right. If you want to laugh and remember what fun it was to see a good comedy, Alibi is great fun.

So the movie might be a little cheesy but I found it fun as well. My favorite part, and I am bias when it comes to this, is the setting of the movie. It was based in Amsterdam and the lead character rides his bike just like the locals do, the canals and cute outdoor cafés are visible in the background, etc... I think the idea behind the movie is great and it has a lot of potential but it does fall just a little short on the expectations list. I watched this movie on a plane traveling over to Europe and found it to be a nice break from the mainstream Hollywood movies. Besides, with 9 hours on a plane to kill, it was a nice break, subtitles and all!