Although the titles promises 'Girls in the big city' this music 1995 special stars mature ladies Jenny Arean & Adèle Bloemendaal. Of course it would not be prudent to mention how old they were at the time this show was first aired, but sufficed to say, their combined ages were over well into the three digit numbers. So you do the math. Between the pair of them they salute the city they love most: the Dutch capital of Amsterdam.
Starting off with Arean's favorite "Amsterdams Parfum", Jenny is dressed in a mini-skirt and ready for a day out on the town. At the monument on the Dam she meets up with Adèle who is wearing a fake mustache and appears to have been going at it since the evening before. It's Bloemendaal's turn to break into song next, and she does so hanging from the back of a garbage truck (no mean feat considering the fumes) as she belts out "Metterwoon". Afterwards the two best friends visit Jenny's elderly home and Rembrandt's Nightwatch. They reminisce about the war and perform a German ditty while touring the Amsterdam canals. Jenny performs "Dit Lied Is Duizend Eeuwen Oud" accompanied by photographs from her family album before the pair of them exchange some gossip about their latest and youngest boyfriends to date.
Adèle, always the more outrageous one, surprised everyone by performing the aptly titled "Amsterdam Rap" (something she has been wanting to do for ages, apparently). Diving into the customary pub, they are joined by several local singing choirs for "Asterdamse Kroeg" (Bloemendaal being one of the original stars of the café bound musical comedy ''t Schaep Met De 5 Pooten' while Arean went on to a supporting part in the remake). As the tipsy customers spill out into the street, they inexplicably find some kind of Brazilian carnival going on, and everybody joins in for a number called, you guessed it, "Amsterdam".
Having finally tired herself out, Adèle heads home, refuses to let the camera in and leaves Jenny all alone on the streets of the night to sing one last "Canto", based on music by Nino Rota no less. This number brings the special full circle, which is as good a place as any to bring this comment to a close. Oh, one last thing: to make this special even more artistically valid and simultaneously vague, actors dressed as ordinary people you might see on the every day streets sprout poetic nonsense in between the musical numbers, making the overused phrase 'Arty Farty' spring to mind.
7 out of 10
Starting off with Arean's favorite "Amsterdams Parfum", Jenny is dressed in a mini-skirt and ready for a day out on the town. At the monument on the Dam she meets up with Adèle who is wearing a fake mustache and appears to have been going at it since the evening before. It's Bloemendaal's turn to break into song next, and she does so hanging from the back of a garbage truck (no mean feat considering the fumes) as she belts out "Metterwoon". Afterwards the two best friends visit Jenny's elderly home and Rembrandt's Nightwatch. They reminisce about the war and perform a German ditty while touring the Amsterdam canals. Jenny performs "Dit Lied Is Duizend Eeuwen Oud" accompanied by photographs from her family album before the pair of them exchange some gossip about their latest and youngest boyfriends to date.
Adèle, always the more outrageous one, surprised everyone by performing the aptly titled "Amsterdam Rap" (something she has been wanting to do for ages, apparently). Diving into the customary pub, they are joined by several local singing choirs for "Asterdamse Kroeg" (Bloemendaal being one of the original stars of the café bound musical comedy ''t Schaep Met De 5 Pooten' while Arean went on to a supporting part in the remake). As the tipsy customers spill out into the street, they inexplicably find some kind of Brazilian carnival going on, and everybody joins in for a number called, you guessed it, "Amsterdam".
Having finally tired herself out, Adèle heads home, refuses to let the camera in and leaves Jenny all alone on the streets of the night to sing one last "Canto", based on music by Nino Rota no less. This number brings the special full circle, which is as good a place as any to bring this comment to a close. Oh, one last thing: to make this special even more artistically valid and simultaneously vague, actors dressed as ordinary people you might see on the every day streets sprout poetic nonsense in between the musical numbers, making the overused phrase 'Arty Farty' spring to mind.
7 out of 10