A Brown dress hanging in the closet of room 417 at the Barbizon Hotel Amsterdam provides this TV play with it's title. It's not really a MacGuffin, though, since to call it an object of mystery would be very generous. It really only amounts to two people wondering who's dress it is.
From the start of the play, as the ever present singing voice of Jacques Plafond performs the song "Komen en Gaan", we follow two men. One is down on his luck Bob (Toon Agterberg), who can only afford half a cup of coffee in a café and who's only hope is to win the lottery. The other is stockbroker Peter (Theo Pont), who is cheating on his wife of 12 and a half years and planning to take his mistress to a big party. When Peter carelessly leaves his suitcase on top of his car before driving off, it falls off right in front of comic book shop Stripantikwariaat Richard and also at Bob's feet. Bob takes the suitcase to a park and discusses the contents with an older, wiser but more cynical bum (Willem Wachter). Proving himself as careless as Peter, he leaves the important half of his lottery ticket on the park bench.
About to return the suitcase at the Barbizon Hotel, Bob glances at Marion (Jacqueline Blom) sitting in the hotel restaurant and can't resist to join her for a flirt. After spilling his drink on her dress (not the brown one) they go upstairs to Peters room (# 417) for a change of clothing. The room is equipped with a luxurious bathroom, a bible and instant porn on the television set. Very naughty of the VPRO to broadcast bits of a HC scene like this. Paul Shrader couldn't get away with showing porn on a TV screen in "Auto Focus" in 2002, but the VPRO had no such problems in the eighties. On a side note, a few years later Wim T. Schippers wrote a similar gag into a scene in his dramady "We Zijn Weer Thuis".
After some discussion about philosophy (see also Schipper's previous TV outing Sans Rancune) Bob & Marion contemplate doing the deed right there and then when Peter returns to his room. The self important stockbroker thinks Marion, who happens to be his mistress, found his suitcase and Bob pretends to be a plumber but fails in his disguise.
Bob finally gets hold of the lottery scores, and just when he realizes he's won the grand prize but lost his ticket, the old bum arrives with a hooker to give him half of the winnings (he knew where to find Bob because of the suitcase). Unfortunately Bob and Henk get into a scuffle, leaving Bob in a bathtub, thereby ruining his check. And to whom did that brown dress belong? To Bob's wife (Mies de Heer). Now that's a twist, Shyamalan!
7 out of 10
From the start of the play, as the ever present singing voice of Jacques Plafond performs the song "Komen en Gaan", we follow two men. One is down on his luck Bob (Toon Agterberg), who can only afford half a cup of coffee in a café and who's only hope is to win the lottery. The other is stockbroker Peter (Theo Pont), who is cheating on his wife of 12 and a half years and planning to take his mistress to a big party. When Peter carelessly leaves his suitcase on top of his car before driving off, it falls off right in front of comic book shop Stripantikwariaat Richard and also at Bob's feet. Bob takes the suitcase to a park and discusses the contents with an older, wiser but more cynical bum (Willem Wachter). Proving himself as careless as Peter, he leaves the important half of his lottery ticket on the park bench.
About to return the suitcase at the Barbizon Hotel, Bob glances at Marion (Jacqueline Blom) sitting in the hotel restaurant and can't resist to join her for a flirt. After spilling his drink on her dress (not the brown one) they go upstairs to Peters room (# 417) for a change of clothing. The room is equipped with a luxurious bathroom, a bible and instant porn on the television set. Very naughty of the VPRO to broadcast bits of a HC scene like this. Paul Shrader couldn't get away with showing porn on a TV screen in "Auto Focus" in 2002, but the VPRO had no such problems in the eighties. On a side note, a few years later Wim T. Schippers wrote a similar gag into a scene in his dramady "We Zijn Weer Thuis".
After some discussion about philosophy (see also Schipper's previous TV outing Sans Rancune) Bob & Marion contemplate doing the deed right there and then when Peter returns to his room. The self important stockbroker thinks Marion, who happens to be his mistress, found his suitcase and Bob pretends to be a plumber but fails in his disguise.
Bob finally gets hold of the lottery scores, and just when he realizes he's won the grand prize but lost his ticket, the old bum arrives with a hooker to give him half of the winnings (he knew where to find Bob because of the suitcase). Unfortunately Bob and Henk get into a scuffle, leaving Bob in a bathtub, thereby ruining his check. And to whom did that brown dress belong? To Bob's wife (Mies de Heer). Now that's a twist, Shyamalan!
7 out of 10
