Business Is Business (1971 film)

For the French comedy of the same name, see Business is business.

Business Is Business
DVD cover of Business Is Business
Directed by	Paul Verhoeven
Written by	Albert Mol Gerard Soeteman
Produced by	Rob Houwer
Starring	Ronnie Bierman Sylvia de Leur Piet Römer Jules Hamel
Cinematography	Jan de Bont
Edited by	Jan Bosdriesz
Music by	Jack Trombey
Release dates	September 10, 1971 December 29, 1972
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Netherlands
Language	Dutch
Budget	ƒ 800,000 (est.)
Box office	ƒ 4,000,000

Business Is Business (Dutch title: Wat zien ik) is a 1971 comedy film. It was the first feature film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film is starring Ronnie Bierman, Sylvia de Leur, Piet Römer, and Jules Hamel. The story is about the love life of two prostitutes in Amsterdam, and is based on two books with anecdotes by Albert Mol. The film had 2,358,946 admissions in the Netherlands.

Plot

The film tells the story of the love life of Greet (Ronnie Bierman) and Nel (Sylvia de Leur), two female prostitutes in Amsterdam. They live together in a canal house at the Prinsengracht, where they also receive their customers.

Sexual fantasies

Greet creates the customers' sexual fanasies in roleplaying. The roleplaying are in the form of anecdotes throughout the film. The roleplaying involves Greet being a wigged witch, a schoolteacher, a feathered chicken, a corpse, a woman commanding her cleaner, and a surgeon. Sometimes Nel assists her by playing a part in the roleplaying.

Nel and Sjaak

Nel lives with Sjaak (Jules Hamel), a guy that likes fishing and that lives of Nel's money. Nel and Sjaak are continuously fighting. Greet convinces Nel to respond to a contact advertisement. When a date is set up the meeting in a restaurant ends up in trowing cakes. Nel wants to clean her dress and then she meets Bob (Bernard Droog) and they fall in love. In another fight Sjaak almost kills Nel with a knife and Nel decides to move in with Bob in Eindhoven. Bob turns out to be boring, and Nel visits Greet in Amsterdam. But she doesn't want to work as a prostitute anymore, and Nel turns out to be pregnant. Nel and Bob marry in Amsterdam, and all Nel's former colleagues act as if she worked as a seamstress.

Greet and Piet

Greet meets the married man Piet (Piet Römer) in the hangout bar. He takes her to a striptease club and they have sex afterwards in her house. Unlike the other men, he doesn't have to pay. Piet brings Greet bouquet of red roses. The next time Piet they create a romantic atmosphere and Piet stays over the night with Greet. Another Piet takes Greet to a classical concert, which she dislikes and she makes a scene in the concert hall. When Piet finds out his wife is pregnant he stops seeing Greet. In the end of the film they meet again and Greet says he should name his child "Greet" if it is a girl. The film ends when Greet makes the customer that plays the cleaner clean up Nel's marriage party.

Cast

• Ronnie Bierman as Blonde Greet
• Sylvia de Leur as Neeltje "Nel" Muller
• Piet Römer as Piet
• Jules Hamel as Sjaak
• Bernard Droog as Bob de Vries
• Albert Mol as Mr. Van Schaveren, Nel's date

Production

Paul Verhoeven directed the film. Business Is Business was Paul Verhoeven's first feature film.

Gerard Soeteman wrote the film scenario, which was his first feature film script. He based the story on the two books Wat zien ik!? and Haar van Boven written by Albert Mol. Writer Albert Mol also has a small role in the film himself as Mr. Van Schaveren.

The opening scene is shot at the airport Schiphol. Many scenes in the film are shot in the city of Amsterdam, most in the canal house, in the red-light district, and at the canals.

Reception

The film had 2,358,946 admissions in the Netherlands.

External links

• Wat zien ik at IMDb
• Business is Business at AllMovie