Learn Hardcore Danish: Filmen er både sjov og spændende.

So Filmen er både sjov og spændende literally means “The film is both funny and exciting.”
Using en film would mean “A film is both funny and exciting”, which sounds like a general statement about films, not one specific movie.

What does både ... og mean, and how is it used?

både ... og is the Danish equivalent of “both ... and” in English.

både goes right before the first item.
og goes right before the second item.

Here it connects two adjectives:

både sjov og spændende = both funny and exciting

You can also use it with nouns, verbs, etc.:

både børn og voksne = both children and adults
Han både læser og skriver dansk. = He both reads and writes Danish.

Could I leave out både and just say Filmen er sjov og spændende?

Yes, that is perfectly correct Danish:

Filmen er sjov og spændende.

Without både, it still means the film is funny and exciting.
både just emphasizes that both qualities apply at the same time. In many contexts, the version without både is more neutral and common in everyday speech.

Why is it sjov and not sjovt or sjove here?

The form of a predicative adjective (after er, bliver, etc.) depends on the gender and number of the noun it describes.

Common gender singular (words like en film) → base form: sjov
Neuter gender singular (words like et spil) → sjovt
Plural (both genders) → sjove

Since film is common gender (en film), the correct form is:

Filmen er sjov. = The film is funny.

If it were neuter, you would say:

Spillet er sjovt. = The game is funny.

So could I say Filmen er både sjovt og spændende?

No, not in standard Danish.
Filmen is common gender (en film), so the adjective must be sjov, not sjovt:

✅ Filmen er både sjov og spændende.
❌ Filmen er både sjovt og spændende.

You would only use sjovt with a neuter noun:

Spillet er både sjovt og spændende. = The game is both fun and exciting.

Why doesn’t spændende change form like sjov does?

spændende is one of a group of adjectives ending in -ende (often from verb participles).
These adjectives are invariable in modern Danish:

en spændende film (common singular)
et spændende spil (neuter singular)
spændende film (plural)
Filmen er spændende.
Spillet er spændende.

So you never see spændendt or spændendee; it always stays spændende.

Is sjov here an adjective or a noun?

In this sentence, sjov is an adjective meaning funny.

Danish also has sjov as a noun, meaning fun:

Vi havde meget sjov. = We had a lot of fun.

You can tell it’s an adjective here because it comes after er and describes filmen:

Filmen er sjov. = The film is funny.

Can I change the order and say Filmen er både spændende og sjov?

Yes, that is also correct:

Filmen er både spændende og sjov.

Both orders are grammatically fine.
The difference is just a slight change in emphasis or style. Often, speakers put first whatever quality they feel is more important or comes to mind first, but there is no strict rule.

Where exactly should både go in the sentence? Could I move it?

In this kind of sentence, både should go right before the first item in the pair:

✅ Filmen er både sjov og spændende.

These are not correct:

❌ Filmen er sjov både og spændende.
❌ Filmen er både er sjov og spændende.

If you use både ... og on verb phrases, både comes before the first verb phrase:

Han både læser bøger og ser film. = He both reads books and watches movies.

How would this sentence look with a neuter noun instead of filmen?

Take a neuter noun like spil (game):

Spillet er både sjovt og spændende.
- spillet = the game
- sjovt = neuter singular form (matches et spil / spillet)
- spændende = unchanged

So the only visible change from the original is sjov → sjovt and filmen → spillet.

How would I say the negative version, like “The film is neither funny nor exciting”?

You use hverken ... eller for “neither ... nor”:

Filmen er hverken sjov eller spændende.
= The film is neither funny nor exciting.

hverken ... eller is the negative counterpart to både ... og:

både sjov og spændende = both funny and exciting
hverken sjov eller spændende = neither funny nor exciting

How do you roughly pronounce sjov and spændende?

Approximate pronunciations (in English-like spelling):

sjov → roughly like “shyow” (one syllable, a bit like English “show” but with a y‑glide)
spændende → roughly “SPEN-neh-neh”
- spæn like “spen” in “spend”
- -de- is very light, often reduced, and final -e is a soft, short “eh” sound

Precise Danish pronunciation is more nuanced, but these approximations are close enough to be understood.