Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Jennifer Hoffman, Tibor Lukács, Eva van de Wijdeven, Oscar Aerts, Georgina Verbaan, Anniek Pheifer, Loek peters, Willeke Alberti, Cees Geel, Murth Mossel
Description: A lovelorn police officer (Jennifer Hoffman) and a womanizing bar owner (Tibor Lukács) get into a romantic game of cat and mouse as they both attempt to take their love lives in new directions.
Review: Romcoms mostly follow a certain path. Lovebirds trying to be noticed by the other, they find each other, due to a misunderstanding they lose each other and eventually they end up together. And that final moment is often during a dramatic race against time. This is the format it apparently needs, but it’s the execution and its details that makes the difference. In the Dutch romantic comedy “Hartenstrijd”, we follow a bet which will bring two different characters closer together.
Tina is a motor cop, who believes in true and eternal love and always hopelessly clings herself to men. When her boyfriend breaks up with her, her world crashes and Tina claims she is done with serious relationships. She moves in with her best friend Fleurtje and makes a bet with her that she won’t be in any serious relationships for at least a year. Tina thinks she can do the ‘no strings attached’ routine and have meaningless sex with men without getting feelings. So she starts to casually date Sven, a guy that is known for his smooth talking and sleeping with women without dating them or let alone be in a relationship with them. Sven just made a bet with his best friend Dennis, that he can go on five dates with the same woman without having sex with her. And Tina is his project.
The whole idea behind “Hartenstrijd” is the big difference between Sven and Tina, how they view love, relationships and dating. And this movie is, like most romcoms, very predictable. A lot of tossing and turning between the two, before eventually reaching its core. Tina and Sven are very stereotypical, almost caricature like. Tina is a dull and clumsy woman, who can’t live without a man in her life. Sven is a playboy, who objectifies women. Jennifer Hoffman and Tibor Lukács are both not very comfortable in their roles somehow. It’s the supporting characters that catch your eye. Like Eva van de Wijdeven as Fleurtje, I loved her sass. And Aniek Pheifer as Sven’s pregnant friend, giving him advice wherever she can. And I really enjoyed the scenes with Tina and her co colleagues.
If the roles were a bit more realistic, you could actually care about the leading characters. “Hartenstrijd” has its moments, it’s not all bad. But it’s the small jokes and moments. It’s not cohesive and feels unfinished.
Rating: 2/ 5
