This Dutch classic by Dick Maas, director of the highly suspenseful film 'The Lift' (De Lift - 1983) and the awful 'Sint' (2010), was a huge success in the Netherlands in the eighties, mostly appealing to those with the typical sense of humor of a teenager.
I'm in my forties now and must admit I've seen it more than a dozen times and still enjoy it a lot. It's quite rude but none more so than many other films I saw over the years and judging by Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's success these days there's a more than willing audience for this kind of fun.
The story is about a family of asocial misfits who are relocated to a villa in an upper class neighborhood, the only available place due to housing shortage. Their eccentric behavior to say the least causes havoc among the local residents who take the law into their own hands trying to get rid of the family, eventually discovering they're not much different. Housing issues are common in overcrowded areas in the Netherlands where in the eighties whole communities had to be taken down because of severe industrial pollution of the grounds they were built on.
Most of the humor is of a sexual nature in a very basic sense. It's with toe clenching satisfaction to safely observe so much obscenity but with an almost delicate touch that puts serious social problems into perspective. Incest, alcoholism, neglect of the elderly, Dick Maas tackles them beautifully in a great social satire.
Some reviews mention a typical Dutch sense of humor. I think there's a certain amount of sexual obscenities and slapstick in films from loads of other countries and often with a much darker and scarier background. If there must be a typical Dutch sense of humor I'd rather think of Alex van Warmerdam's films 'Abel' and 'The Northerners'. If there's something typically Dutch in this film though, it's friendly rudeness.
The film is done low budget but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The acting is fine throughout the film and Nelly Frijda as Ma Flodder is epic. She, Huub Stapel (Johnnie Flodder), René van 't Hoff (son Kees) and Tatjana Simic (daughter Kees) are showbiz veterans and as a team carry this film to a higher level than it's been given credit for.
Look out for the memorable scene where daughter Kees for blackmail purposes seduces horny neighbor Neuteboom (Bert André).
Followed by Flodder in Amerika! (1992), Flodder 3 (1995) and a five season TV series (1993-1998).
I'm in my forties now and must admit I've seen it more than a dozen times and still enjoy it a lot. It's quite rude but none more so than many other films I saw over the years and judging by Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's success these days there's a more than willing audience for this kind of fun.
The story is about a family of asocial misfits who are relocated to a villa in an upper class neighborhood, the only available place due to housing shortage. Their eccentric behavior to say the least causes havoc among the local residents who take the law into their own hands trying to get rid of the family, eventually discovering they're not much different. Housing issues are common in overcrowded areas in the Netherlands where in the eighties whole communities had to be taken down because of severe industrial pollution of the grounds they were built on.
Most of the humor is of a sexual nature in a very basic sense. It's with toe clenching satisfaction to safely observe so much obscenity but with an almost delicate touch that puts serious social problems into perspective. Incest, alcoholism, neglect of the elderly, Dick Maas tackles them beautifully in a great social satire.
Some reviews mention a typical Dutch sense of humor. I think there's a certain amount of sexual obscenities and slapstick in films from loads of other countries and often with a much darker and scarier background. If there must be a typical Dutch sense of humor I'd rather think of Alex van Warmerdam's films 'Abel' and 'The Northerners'. If there's something typically Dutch in this film though, it's friendly rudeness.
The film is done low budget but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The acting is fine throughout the film and Nelly Frijda as Ma Flodder is epic. She, Huub Stapel (Johnnie Flodder), René van 't Hoff (son Kees) and Tatjana Simic (daughter Kees) are showbiz veterans and as a team carry this film to a higher level than it's been given credit for.
Look out for the memorable scene where daughter Kees for blackmail purposes seduces horny neighbor Neuteboom (Bert André).
Followed by Flodder in Amerika! (1992), Flodder 3 (1995) and a five season TV series (1993-1998).