Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Flat Dutch romcom has sexual references, language, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Just Say Yes
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Lotte (Yolanthe Cabau) is a television producer madly in love with her on-air host boyfriend, Alex (Juvat Westendorp) in JUST SAY YES. She imagines extravagant scenarios where he'll propose to her, but when he finally does, the proposal is a let-down and he breaks up with her soon after. Thankfully, her new colleague Chris (Jim Bakkum) hatches a plot to make Alex jealous by helping Lotte become an on-air star in her own right. Things get really complicated when her sister, Estelle (Noortje Herlaar), a narcissistic beauty influencer, falls in love with Lotte's boss, John (Edwin Jonker), and Lotte begins developing feelings for Chris.
Is It Any Good?
This romcom from the Netherlands follows a comfortably familiar formula and has some fine performances, but the film is ultimately light on laughs and heavy on bad taste. Just Say Yes's Lotte (played by the charismatic Spanish-Dutch Cabau) is like a Dutch Bridget Jones, right down to her seemingly-inaccessible work crush, pressure to lose weight, and embarrassing gaffes as a new on-air reporter. It's awfully hard to believe this smart and stunning woman is the pushover she's meant to be at the start, and her male colleagues' dismissiveness of her feels more appropriate to an era 20 years prior to the first Bridget Jones movie, not 20 years after.
It leaves you wondering if you're missing something in the translation (this film was reviewed in the original Dutch with English subtitles) when lines clearly meant to draw a laugh fall so thunderously flat, like when Estelle tells her recently-jilted sister not to "take her own life" while she's out on a date, or when an exercise coach's motivational cheers promise a "tight body on that sex tape," or when a stranger on a park bench mentions "STD" and "itchy balls" on a phone call. Other scenes are thankfully more subtle, and the actors do the best they can with the material. The film's attractive urban locations are an added bonus.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what gives Lotte her newfound confidence in Just Say Yes. How do we see her character evolve?
What do you think of Lotte's idea for the reality show? Have you ever seen anything like it?
The film is set in the Netherlands. What do you know about this country? Have you been there? Where could you go for more information?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 2, 2021
- Cast : Yolanthe Cabau , Noortje Herlaar , Jim Bakkum
- Directors : Appie Boudellah , Aram van de Rest
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate