Het schnitzelparadijs (2005) User Reviews

Very questionable script, but probably funny and entertaining for most of us

[mart van genugten · 6/10 · 10 September 2005]

if you want to enjoy this movie, you shouldn't be bothered by a questionable script with some of the most cheesy romantic dialogue imaginable, a high-school-sitcom-cliché-over-the-top-romeo-and-Juliet-plot, a story with a lot of loose ends and very questionable acting of the two lead roles. It is however successful as a comedy, funny and entertaining, with a lot of fast paced almost Ali-G reminiscent kind of impersonations and food-fight action fun with some fast edited sequences with loud music. Just shut down your brain and don't think too much when watching this film and you will probably end up enjoying it.

Almost escapes Dutch curse, but not quite

[The_Melancholic_Alcoholic · 6/10 · 6 May 2006]

I didn't know what the film was about, so I was kinda disappointed by it, after all the hype. I'm forced to agree with everyone who dissed the romantic bits. Man, that was bad. Surely there must be SOME better romantic writers in Holland! Certainly the initial romantic scenes were awkward and clumsy, and not credible at all. Dialogue sucked big time. The comedy parts are quite good, but one gets the feeling that the actors rescued the writer here. The writing is, in general quite bad. This was a novel first? Wow, you hope the guy didn't quit his day job. Mimoun Oaïssa's expressions, mimics, language, really rescues the comedy part, and thereby, the entire film. This is remarkable in a country with a bad rep in comedy film and TV. Cabaret, that's the Dutch forté as far as comedy is concerned. But anything else ... ouch!

So dumb

[Josfaber · 5/10 · 26 January 2006]

I didn't like this movie. I thought this was a comedy but it seems more like a romantic film. The end was too predictable. I think the only one who really deserves a whole lot of respect is Tygo. He plays a real freak, which is quite an effort. All the other actors just play someone really close to themselves. Further more I'd like the character Ali, who was the only one I felt sorry for in the movie and the only one I sometimes even had to laugh about. The music video of this movie: Wat wil je doen dan by the Partysquad and a league of dutch rappers contains like nearly all the funny parts of the movie. It wasn't that much a waste of my time, although I think that there are a whole lot of movies that I should have watched in stead.

Funny with a bad script

[lgtjanssen · 6/10 · 22 October 2005]

I left the cinema with mixed feelings. Why couldn't they just have a decent script for this movie and how can someone destroy scenes by selecting the wrong music for some of the scenes? Moreover I got the feeling the movie wanted to address too much within the 85 minutes (discrimination at work, discrimination at nightclubs and so on). The story lines other than the main Romeo and Julia story line were too brief I wonder whether I would be better just to stick to one story line.

* contains spoilers* The relationship between Nordip and Agnes could have been explored much deeper. At first I had the impression that the movie would only be about this relationship, but then the writer got into his mind that he should address more than just the difficult love affair.

Also (suprisingly) the writer never tells us how Agnes' parents reacted when she told she was having an affair with Nordip. In fact the only time we see her father is at the very end. The end contains a small error as Nordip knows exactly where Agnes is but still ask the kitchen staff where she is.

* end spoilers*

However, the movie is funny and enjoyable to watch (which is the main aim for this movie and reason why I went to the cinema).

Bad script, Bad acting. Yep Dutch hit movie

[Robby_V · 3/10 · 14 September 2005]

Yes there is some trace of humor in this film, but aside from that the movie is terrible. This one has movie making 101 written all over it.

Romeo & Julia love story in a restaurants' kitchen setting with lots of different character types to bring out situations deemed funny. Some of the situations could have been funny if it wasn't that you could see them coming miles away. The script is so basic without any shame to use cliché's that it hurts to watch.

Nice for the crowd between age 12 and 16 that made up 80% of the movie's audience, for the people with an attention span longer than 1 second, spend your time and money elsewhere.

Comedy without jokes

[ofjeworstlust · 2/10 · 19 December 2006]

Come on, I really expected something more from this movie. As being marketed as the follow up to Shouf Shouf Habibi, which was also a multi cultural comedy, one would look forward for some laughs and political incorrect remarks.

No, a real thin romance, cliché first generation immigrants from Morocco, overacting actors. No surprises and really not a single character you might feel good or sorry for. Can't understand the relatively high score on IMDb. Dutch movies most of the times consist of curses and sex. Well, this movie consists of nothing worth writing a comment about.

A movie about really nothing

[johnstolwerk · 1/10 · 19 February 2006]

I didn't know what to expect from this movie, but because it was Dutch I wanted to see what had been made in 'my' country. Unfortunately it was nothing. The movie is about nothing, a love affair between a Dutch girl and a Marrocan guy. That's not really a problem because sometimes funny movies are about nothing. But it's also not funny. People were doing some disgusting things in the kitchen (I don't hope it happens in reality) and the role of the chief in the kitchen was totally unclear to me. It was not original although I was not bored at all, maybe because it was so short (that was an highlight). Don't waste your time watching it.

lack of words

[hansbearnl · 1/10 · 10 March 2008]

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Yes, I am Dutch, and Yes I am ashamed of an awful piece like this. You hear the word "fk" almost every 10 seconds, even though it is spelled/pronounced with an o this movie should never have been made, and dumped in the trashcan from the beginning. The fact that this is the 'second generation' of Maroccons living here involved in making this movie doesn't have to do anything with the quality. It could have been OK if they would have use some normal language. Some people call it funny, and at some moments this movie is, well, for those who don't know how to laugh about normal humor that is. Really, I can't find anything in this movie to recommend it to watch it, even on a boring rainy day, or a day the snow is piled up in front of your house for more than 2 meters.

Never walked out of a movie before - until this one!

[ya1973 · 1/10 · 20 June 2007]

I never walked out of a movie before. Until this one. It took me exactly 25 minutes. Some things about it made me smile, but it was more of a forced smile mixed with some hope that this would turn out to be a funny movie. I am quite drawn to the Netherlands and tend to like dutch movies. This one is a total disgust, at least the first 25 minutes. Its not that I have no idea about "life in a restaurant kitchen" but summing up some really disgusting scenes and pretending to be "funny" is simply ridiculous. Is this movie supposed to be provoking? Shocking? Entertaining? I thought it was full of clichés (re. immigrants for example) and God!! some incredibly cheap jokes. Sorry, but accumulated nonsense and disgust don't really appeal to my sense of humour ... went to the drugstore afterwards for some shopping and boy was that entertaining in comparison! PS: My review was much shorter originally as I don't think there is really much to comment on but I couldn't post without a minimum of 10 lines, so this is the extended version of my "thumbs down" ;-)