Gooische Vrouwen

What people in Hollywood can, people in Hilversum can outdo. At least: when it comes to producing a movie sequel that measures up to the TV series it is based on. Where the Sex and the City films didn’t come within miles of the original, Gooische Vrouwen triumphs. The TV series was a polder version of Desperate Housewives, and the same applies to the film. The four members of the familiar circle of friends - the common Cheryl DeMorero, the back-to-nature freak Roelien, the arty-farty predator Anouk and the neurotic Claire - are all faced with individual setbacks. The solution: a joint trip abroad, when the female quartet swaps posh PC Hooft Street for the Champs-Elysées. Despite the numerous storylines and varied string of characters, Koopman manages to keep things going. The plot is intelligible not only for ardent fans, but also for newcomers to this Blaricum universe. On the silver screen, too, the Gooische Vrouwen turned out to be real crowd pullers: in record time, the film reached the diamond status and now ranks as one of the most successful national productions in recent years.