Sunday, August 4, 2013

Let's Fall in Love

Hajde da se volimo; musical comedy, Serbia/ Croatia/ Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1987; D: Aleksandar Đorđević, S: Lepa Brena, Svetislav Goncić, Dragomir Bojanić Gidra, Milutin Karadžić, Milan Štrljić, Bata Živojinović

Famous singer Lepa Brena and her band are travelling in a bus for their tour across Yugoslavia. Two police officers stop the bus because of speeding, but when they spot Lepa Brena sleeping, they decide to let them go. However, wherever they go, a gang trio is always attempting to kidnap her, so the two police officers are trying to apprehend the criminals responsible. At the same time, one band member, Bale, is running away from four girls because they heard he is "good in bed". In Dubrovnik, the gang trio, disguised as Arabs, try to kidnap Lepa Brena once again, but her band saves her. Her manager arranges a meeting with Mr. Jenkins, an influential music producer who offers her a good offer after seeing her music video.

The originator of one of the most popular movie trilogies in the former Yugoslavia, "Let's Fall in Love" is a vehicle to promote the famous singer Lepa Brena and is at moments so dated that it is almost charming. The story is just an excuse to showcase her singing acts, and as such is rather thin, especially in the second half where the gags deplete themselves (the running gag of Bale, who is constantly running away from four girls who are after him because they heard he is "good in bed", becomes so tiresome and lame after a while), yet in the opening act, "Let's Fall in Love" does have a certain wit that can be enjoyed more than just a 'guilty pleasure', like in the scene where Brena shows how strong she is when she saves herself by pushing her kidnapper out of a plane and then landing, or in the random singing act of the crowd in the village that is so contagious with 'good vibes' that one of the three kidnappers in disguise cannot resist but to start dancing himself. A nostalgic trip across Yugoslavia, featuring opulent locations from Mostar to Dubrovnik, "Let's Fall in Love" is a goofy and silly cult movie, yet easily accessible, just not as great as other examples of movie-promotions of famous singers, such as "A Hard Day's Night" or "ABBA - The Movie", where the Beatles and ABBA would simply display more charm and room to act.

Grade;+

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