Metro Weekly

Yes Nurse! No Nurse!

Reel Affirmations 2003

Ja Zuster! Nee Zuster!

Review by Alex MacLennan (user ID#17)

Rating: starstarstarstarstar (5 out of 5) [Critic’s Pick!]
Sunday, 10/19/2003, 7:00 PM
Feature presentation, $9 at Lincoln Theatre
Dutch with English subtitles

Yes Nurse, No NurseTHIS BIG, SUGARY gumdrop of a movie is chock full of musical numbers, colorful outfits, and eccentric performances that conspire, beginning with the exuberant opening credits, to offer a flat-out pleasurable, original, and unexpected treat.

Fans of Chicago, Down with Love, and especially Moulin Rouge should flock to the fluffy story of Nurse Klivia, Jet, Bertus and Bobby, the Engineer, the Hairdresser, nasty Boordevol, and Gerit, the handsome thief.

The movie’s plot (twisty and extraneous as it is) involves at least three romances, a threatened eviction, a series of robberies, and a pill that change personalities from bad to good. One romantic interlude includes the smoothly muscled thief, in the tightest of tighty whities, singing on the rooftop to his pigeons and then his girl. It’s like a Pierre et Giles photo come to life on the set of Little Shop of Horrors.

Yes Nurse, No NurseThe gay plotline may be small, but the gay sensibility is overwhelming, as is the sheer fun of watching this film. Yes Nurse! No Nurse! enjoys the benefits of a respectable budget, judiciously (and joyously) spent. Carnivals, circuses, and parades regularly move down Klivia’s street, and the characters swing into song and dance without fail. There are more than one moments of true beauty, plenty of laughs, and a surprisingly moving denouement.

Yes Nurse! No Nurse! is a sweet, funny film that swirls and delights. Be warned — you might just spend days singing the chorus in your head, and you will definitely be enchanted from beginning to end.

Yes Nurse! No Nurse!
Image for Review

Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism

These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!