In the guest-house of sister Klivia, the inhabitants are very cheerful and good-hearted persons whose open communal lifestyle is contrasted with the life of somewhat nasty and complaining neighbour Mr Boordevool. Boordevool has spent ages looking for reasons to shut the guest-house. One day a girl from the guest-house meets a nice young guy Gerrit. Sister Klivia lets Gerrit stay regardless of him being a thief. Will that give a chance to the insinuations of the neighbour?
Reviews
Shu-fen's comment has very intelligent observations, i agree entirely and won't try to surpass his enthusiast, excellent review. I am familiar with the beloved Dutch TV series from the late sixties that was behind this film and have enjoyed this remake, true to the spirit of the original as it is, immensely. The speed and inventiveness in this film are incredible, one slapstick-like scene after another, songs and musical-like scenes bursting out everywhere all the time, and yet, very clear cut small miracles of natural acting abound, intimate scenes, close ups, small conversations, never too long... Viewers from abroad will fail to recognize and enjoy the nice local accents of various Dutch towns in the speech of some actors, but that's always something inevitably "lost in translation"... - willem ouwerkerk
The plot is goofy and delightful, the musical numbers are implausible and silly (just like any other musical) and it hardly matters at all that the whole thing is in German with subtitles. In fact, the subtitles for the song lyrics are either terrible translations or else the lyrics are just awful to begin with. But who cares? The tunes are upbeat and happy and the dancing is fun and nicely staged with little touches one would never see in a Hollywood film. The Gay bits are light weight but fittingly move the plot along providing a villain and a love interest. Put your brain in PARK; no thinking is required; just let the whole thing wash over you like a dream that makes you laugh out loud. You'll want to own this to watch again and to spring it on special friends.
Maybe you won't get to experience a full Castro Theater singing along with the star of the movie, but I think you'll enjoy it almost as much as I did! And while it played in the 27th San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, it isn't really a Gay film. It's just a movie that has a special appeal to a Gay audience. I doubt that most of the audience speaks Dutch. I doubt that most of the audience had ever heard any of the songs. I had no idea that this movie had its origins in a long lost '60s Dutch TV series. None of this mattered. The movie was silly and just plain fun. The characters burst out in song and start dancing. There were bits and pieces that reminded me of '60s American musical and others that reminded me of British sit-coms. There were heroes and villains. There is growth and change. The Dutch Queen even comes to visit. Yes Nurse, No Nurse could never have been made in the US. And that's a good thing.
A couple of my friends wanted to see this movie. I thought it would be terrible but I went along anyway. To my surprise it was a great movie. The acting is great, especially Boordevol was terrific. I know him as Anton Gleuf from a kids show and he was so incredibly funny in this movie. When they began to sing in the beginning I felt a little bit awkward but after the first few songs that feeling was over. The atmosphere is really great in this movie.