Ibiza: A name synonymous with EDM club life. For this small island off the coast of Spain, dance music isn’t just a sub-genre: it’s a way of life, with countless clubs devoted to providing the best nightlife experience in the world.
Netflix has recently capitalized on this lifestyle by bringing us a film about the nighttime shenanigans on the island with their new original film aptly titled Ibiza. Is this film an accurate representation of the island or is it feeding into the damaging stereotype associated with dance music? We watched the film to find out.
The movie starts out by introducing the young heroine, A 20-something millennial with a snarky personality, contempt for her boss, and stuck at a job she really hates. Her boss calls her into a big office with sweeping panoramic views of New York City and mentions that she’ll be sending the heroine on a business trip to Spain to close a very big deal. This is promptly followed by a rather forced exchange between the boss and employee, and you can feel the bosses aversion to the heroine by way of how many times she swears and says, “if you fuck this up I will ruin your life.”
The young heroine gets very excited by the prospect of traveling abroad on the company’s dime and rushes to tells her two best friends the good news. Naturally, the two best friends are like: “we’re coming with you.” And don’t take no for answer, regardless of how much the heroine protests. Upon arrival in Spain, the three young women decide to take up the local club environment, where a well-known DJ happens to be headlining. Through a series of fortuitous circumstances the heroine and the headlining DJ meet which is the premise of the entire film.
The heroine and the DJ hit it off right away, thus starting an adventurous love affair where the heroine totally forgets about her job and instead enlists the help of her two travel companions to track down this DJ she met who happens to be playing a prominent club in Ibiza.
This film is the ultimate fantasy. Living out a dream of endless partying, adventure, and taking in breathtaking views of foreign locales. It also plays on the ideal romance. Where someone who seems to be a perpetual bachelor, who is surrounded by beautiful women constantly, may, in fact, be prince charming. The DJ, someone we expect to have multiple relations with multiple women actually wants a monogamous relationship with someone special. And the idea that any one of us could be that person to tame the wild beast with his wicked beats is a dream come true for many.
However, Ibiza feels more forced to adhere to EDM stereotypes than it’s actually a viable reality. Through awkward performances and exchanges between both protagonists, the film feels more like a teenager romance than an exchange between two adults who have fallen in love. Club life in Ibiza comes off more like an idea someone had who has never been there but they think they know what Ibiza is really like. There is no element of authority in its storytelling. It doesn’t showcase EDM life to its best possible ability. And it certainly doesn’t seem likely that the one girl a DJ picks out from the crowd happens to be his soulmate.
It’s not realistic by any stretch of the imagination. However, if you’re into the type of film that offers cheap jokes, showcases a very skewed view of club life, and are interested in what Ibiza may have to offer this is a great movie for you. It’s entertaining even if it’s not very convincing. And I guarantee that you’ll wish Richard Madden really was a DJ with his head of great hair and perfect smile. He’s a dreamboat that puts winds in the sails, even if the beats aren’t his. But we’re willing to overlook that fact if you are.
In our opinion, Ibiza was too forced and too far-fetched to be believable. A girl goes to Spain, falls in love with a DJ who just so happens to be unlike every other DJ- in that he doesn’t want to play the field. Sure it sounds good, and what woman doesn’t want a guy to be devoted to her and take her on the greatest adventure of a lifetime? Except, that stuff doesn’t really happen in real life, and to say that it does in the most club-centric place in the world seems more fantasy than reality.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
