New Kids Turbo

Set your timer. You need to laugh out loud at least five time in the first couple of minutes. If you do, you will enjoy this absurd, over the top hilarious movie. If you dont, it's not your thing. I watch this movie every so often if I am in need of a laugh. I totally love the sense of humor. I love it!! Gosh... I roll of the couch every time laughing my ass off....jonguh! And the ending with the bloopers...Gosh have mercy on my soul. Tears streaming down my face!

The kind of humor that's not for everyone, but these guys make it work. Never pretending to make a classic, but just wanting to entertain.

It might look cheap, but is actually well directed, with decent production design and very nice pace.

To understand a part of this movie you have to know a little history. I went to school in the 90's in Eindhoven, a city near the place were the movie takes place. In that time a lot of people dressed as the people in the movie, drove the Sita scooters and drive around in Opel brand cars pretending to be the tough guys. Those people were called Johnny and Anita's. Sneakers, sport clothing and the haircuts you see in the movie were all over the place. Those were great times as we laughed a lot at their stupidity and general behavior.

So basically the writers/actors use that background and show us that kind of attitude and fashion is still alive in Maaskantje (the town were everything takes place). The actors behave like the Johnny's and Anita's back then, talking with an accent commonly used in that region. They are rebels, aggressive and lazy.

The story itself is about all of them losing their jobs and when the bills get too much and they also lose their social security money, they decide no longer to pay their bills. Of course it gets them into trouble and their aggressive behavior gets them even more deeply into trouble, up to the point were the authorities have to step in...

The movie looks good in all. Some stuff is funnier then other parts of the movie. Some cameo-appearances of (in)famous Dutch people. The actors are well know for their short video's from earlier New Kids and the Pulp Show and a lot of things will seem familiar looking at them and the movie.

I had a great laugh, it's an entertaining movie but don't have great expectations watching it. Over 1 million people went to the cinema to see this movie and it's a big hit in Germany too. The German translation is hilarious since the real actors dubbed it, not stopped by their lack of speaking German! It is no wonder this movie scores big time in Germany after movies like 'Manta Manta' and 'Manta the movie'...

ps don't watch this movie if you are a cop!

I must admit having missed the modern meaning of "New Kids" in The Netherlands. I thought it to be only a shorthand for the boys band from many years ago. How wrong I was! A paraphrasic sketch on the Deventer Humor Festival 2010 was needed to put me straight and to trigger some google-ing, just to make me feel having lived under a rock for 3 years. Apparently, this sort of language and behavior was allowed on TV screens at hours suitable for family viewing. How come this did not raise questions in parliament? Why did it not invoke censorship from TPTB (The Powers That Be)?

Contradictory reviews are the best way to get me into a movie theater. Also, I was wondering how one could possibly fill nearly 90 minutes with (I thought) very thin material. But they succeeded splendidly, apart from the ending that was nearly as surreal as the ending of the first (1986) Flodder movie. Of course, it is easy to criticize this finale from my position as an innocent bystander. It could have been the only way to believably wrap-up the story line.

Though a lot of political incorrectness passes by, plus an overload of strong language, I don't think any viewer of any age will be turned into a follower. The crux lies in the degree of over-acting, effectively working out as a satire rather than setting an example. In the 90-ties we had similar discussions about the "Foutje, bedankt" ad for Reaal Verzekeringen, which some people assumed to induce insurance fraud. But the acting by Rijk de Gooyer was clearly recognizable as overly over-the-top, demonstrating it was not the right thing to do.

Speaking for myself, having lived at several locations in the province of Noord Brabant, the dialect sounded very natural. I could follow all dialogues without needing subtitles. I'm not sure, however, this will apply to other Dutch speaking people. There is sufficient testing material on several websites, just to become acquainted with the language and the behavior that seems to be the natural way of living in these circles. If you can't take it, do not go and stay home.

A nice twist was showing a series of bloopers while running the final credits. It worked perfectly to keep the usual early leavers on their seats. Will this introduce a new trend?

All in all, my final conclusion is that the movie is well made, casted perfectly, with the main actors performing very well. Their clothing and hair cut may not be the latest and greatest, but I assume that to be an integral part of the picture. The story has enough flesh to entertain us for 90 minutes. They surprised me positively with that, being an achievement in itself.

Hindsight addition one year later: My review of sequel "New Kids Nitro" is less favorable, and then I express myself euphemistically.

Better than all the nonsense comedies made in Hollywood(LeftW00D) 2020-21!

It was the first time I saw a Dutch comedy with this style! It was great and spectacular...