Vet hard

As an American, I'm not quite sure what to make of this film. It's a bit too brutal for a "zany, madcap comedy", and a bit too slapstick for a "black comedy". Also, it seems more than a bit misogynistic. I'm guessing this is a Dutch flick for "yobs". Still, for entertainment value, I can't say that I disliked it, but I'm huge Nederphile. The ending was certainly different than I expected. A few things might be lost on a foreign audience - the institution of the Dutch "snack bar", for instance, and why Bennie gets so angry when he comes back to find that it's been turned into a "Quicherie".

Mindless fun, but perhaps not one you'll want to watch with a lady friend.

This is , for me, the best comedy ever from Holland!! Its really funny and strongly entertaining, you will not believe what you see sometimes... Our neighbors gave us many many hours of good movies, i also like "Amsterdamed" or "Flodder" but this is very Good. Its for a bunch of people sitting around your TV and drinking beer or something like that... I don't know this original Film "old men in new cars" so...don't think twice if you can catch this movie in a videostore!!!! I hope to see many more films from this young dutch guy. Maybe Hollywood need some more dutch people like Verhoeven or DE Bont?? Great actors, great camera and very very unique characters what do you want more?

Vet Hard, the debut of the 25 year old director Tim Oliehoek, is a definite thrill. Throughout the entire movie, you will be bombarded with nasty, but pretty effective jokes, loads of one liners and all sorts of other fun n weird stuff.

The characters are also pretty wacky, ranging from a fat woman hating tough guy, to a necrophiliac serial killer. Even though we do not really get involved with these characters, its hardly an annoyance, as the movie is pretty much focused on the action scenes. These scenes have been done very well, especially for a dutch movie, some might even say that a certain chase in this movie, has the same sort of excitement level, as amsterdamned once had with the speedboat chase. Again, even though there is a lot more heavier stuff coming from Hollywood, for dutch standards, its pretty wild.

The story isn't very original as well, yet its brought with such enthusiasm and you can see that the actors all had a great time. The little cameos of a lot of dutch celebs is fun as well, and are guaranteed some laughs.

I definitely recommend this film, as it is one of the better dutch comedies and features some great and hilarious (action) scenes.

Regarding the director Tim Oliehoek, i think we will be seeing a lot more from this guy!

"Vet Hard", a remake of the Danish movie "Old men in new cars", is one of the very few action movies to come out of the Netherlands, and because of this it was received quite enthusiastically by the Dutch press. For once, the Dutch press was actually right. While it certainly isn't very original, it's a lot more fun than the somewhat awkward Danish original, and it's a great action comedy in its own right.

The story of "Vet Hard" revolves around ex-con Benny, who, upon getting out of jail, discovers that his friend and mentor Mast is terminally ill, and can only be saved by a new liver. Together with Mast's necrophiliac son and a girl who takes the term "femme fatale" a little too seriously (she constantly tries to kill herself) he tries his best to obtain the precious organ to save him, which leads to lots of car chases, random destruction and slapstick violence.

This kind of thing has been done dozens of times before, but not often this well. Just about everything works in this movie. First of all, it's very fast-paced, with the action sequences and jokes succeeding each other rapidly. The action is decidedly over-the-top, with lots of cartoony violence, people getting crushed under falling objects, etc. It all works perfectly since the movie fortunately doesn't take itself seriously at all. There are lots of very politically incorrect jokes (hey, it's a Dutch movie, what did you expect) that some might consider tasteless, but somehow the vast majority of the jokes work, and the amount of real "toilet humor" (as often seen in American comedies) is kept to a minimum. As an added bonus, many celebrity Dutchmen/women appear in cameos, and often meet their end in gruesome and hilarious manners.

On top of that, the actors all do a very good job. Jack Wouterse is great as the main character Benny, Bracha van Doesburgh makes a great debut as the suicidal girl, and even typical soap/teen movie actors like Kurt Rogiers and Johhny de Mol do a decent enough job. The funniest character, however, is eastern-European handyman Vuk (Peter van den Begin), who constantly manages to short-circuit, immolate, or blow up things (or people, for that matter). It's not sophisticated, but it works.

Well, what else is there to say? This certainly isn't a deep or thought-provoking movie, or one that you will remember for years, so there's really not that much more to talk about. Suffice it to say that "Vet Hard" succeeds marvelously at what it attempts to do, and while it lasts its damned fine entertainment.

***1/2 out of *****

This movie is really a breath of fresh. After watching almost nothing else but heavy Dutch period drama's, drama's in particular and war productions, there finally now is a simple, spectacular and entertaining Dutch movie, in the form of "Vet Hard".

The humor in this movie is cruel and violent. Though it's far from subtle all, it still makes you laugh. To be honest, I think you have to be Dutch to fully understand and appreciate the humor of the movie. The movie however does goes a bit too far at times, even for my taste. I mean having one of the main characters being a necrophiliac serial killer just is not my idea of good taste and quality of humor.

The story is simple and almost non-existent. It's just a pile up of gangster movie clichés and over-the-top comical situations. You clearly shouldn't take this movie serious and watch it for what it is. This movie is a real no-brainer that certainly does entertain and give you a good 88 minutes.

As simple as the movie may be, the quality of it is certainly good. The movie is directed with lots of feeling for pace and handles the characters nicely as well. The action sequences are definitely the best elements of the movie. They are superbly choreographed and even brought better to the screen, also with the help of some excellent editing. It makes it obvious that Tom Oliehoek is a great new young action-movie director, who perhaps already is too big for the Netherlands. Of course the quality and size of it all doesn't hold a candle to an average overdone Hollywood blockbuster production. But this has nothing to do with the directing qualities and talent of Tim Oliehoek but more with the low budget, though for Dutch standards this still was a very expensive movie. At least the movie is no 'Hollywood wannabe'. It has quality and style of its own and it gives the movie its very own unique identity.

The acting to be honest surpassed expectations. You normally wouldn't expect quality acting in an action/comedy like this but his movie has some good actors in it, who all did a good job. Jack Wouterse normally doesn't play main characters and in some movies his role is even no more than just a bit part. I already liked him very much as an actor before this movie but I like him even more now. He shows that he can handle bigger roles and that he is capable of carrying an entire movie for most part on his own. Other fine Dutch and Belgian actors also portray some fine other roles. So, Tim Oliehoek is not just a great action director but also one fine actors director. Only thing is that the movie has a bit too many characters with as a result that not every characters works out as fine or comical as the other. The movie is also filled with lots of cameos of famous Dutch celebrities. I was afraid this was going to get an overkill of it but the did a good job at keeping it to a minimum and till a point were it doesn't get ridicules or distracting from the story.

The fact that I rate this movie only a 6 has nothing to do with its entertainment value. It's just as entertaining as some other movies which I rated a 8 in the past, it's just of lesser quality all. But seeing the circumstances (only 40 days of shooting, for many complicated action sequences included, a €3,700,000 budget.) you have to give credit to this movie and its entire cast & crew.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/