This is basically a very stereotypical love story. A man meets a woman, they marry and have to realize later on that they are very different, indeed opposites. Ida (Alexandra Maria Lara) is a petite fashion designer with lots of ambitions and plans, Otto (Christian Ulmen) a chubby good for nothing who is happy with just existing. A child is born, their marriage gets into trouble, they drift apart, will their love prevail ... ? But this movie is not that profane, it's actually a fairy-tale. Some of the characters come straight from the fairy-tale world. There is the evil queen, her husband, the naive and childish king, and of course a Prince Charming. Otto has got two fishes that are an enchanted human couple, and the viewer can hear them talk. They might be enchanted, but their dialogues are extremely profane, like from a cheap soap opera. So, strangely enough, all this fairy-tale elements are totally devoid of magic.
Mixing fairy-tale stereotypes with soap opera stereotypes doesn't turn it - by a coup de fée - into something brilliant and not boring. It would take some genuine movie magic to to this trick. Unfortunately Doris Dörrie is no disciple of this ancient knowledge, and no enchantress helped her to save this movie, that therefore stays on the narrow roads predetermined by it's shallow ingredients. This doesn't give the actors much of a chance to show their abilities. Christian Ulmen is capable of doing so much more than play somebody with a permanent constipation. Alexandra Maria Lara can be so much more than just being cute, but her cuteness is about the only thing this movie has still got, so there's no complaining here.
This is supposed to be a comedy, which is funny, because I didn't laugh but once, about the very inappropriate way, Ida was wearing the Japanese flag as a dress. Hint: The sun is shining out of her ...? Well, that's a faux pas, Mrs. Dörrie! This movie drags. It's got a very childish feel to it. It's not at all original, interesting or entertaining. There is no great acting. If this would be - as it looks like - the first work of a young director, nobody would encourage him to go on. But nothing could be farther from the truth: Doris Dörrie is one of the best known German movie directors, and perhaps the most prolific of them. More than 20 years ago, in 1988, she already made her Hollywood movie, about a guy who's penis is talking back to him (Me and Him). German movie critics and the guys & dolls in the German film financing system (Slogan: "Our stupid money is your business") do love her.
If you'll ever get the chance to see this movie - don't!
Mixing fairy-tale stereotypes with soap opera stereotypes doesn't turn it - by a coup de fée - into something brilliant and not boring. It would take some genuine movie magic to to this trick. Unfortunately Doris Dörrie is no disciple of this ancient knowledge, and no enchantress helped her to save this movie, that therefore stays on the narrow roads predetermined by it's shallow ingredients. This doesn't give the actors much of a chance to show their abilities. Christian Ulmen is capable of doing so much more than play somebody with a permanent constipation. Alexandra Maria Lara can be so much more than just being cute, but her cuteness is about the only thing this movie has still got, so there's no complaining here.
This is supposed to be a comedy, which is funny, because I didn't laugh but once, about the very inappropriate way, Ida was wearing the Japanese flag as a dress. Hint: The sun is shining out of her ...? Well, that's a faux pas, Mrs. Dörrie! This movie drags. It's got a very childish feel to it. It's not at all original, interesting or entertaining. There is no great acting. If this would be - as it looks like - the first work of a young director, nobody would encourage him to go on. But nothing could be farther from the truth: Doris Dörrie is one of the best known German movie directors, and perhaps the most prolific of them. More than 20 years ago, in 1988, she already made her Hollywood movie, about a guy who's penis is talking back to him (Me and Him). German movie critics and the guys & dolls in the German film financing system (Slogan: "Our stupid money is your business") do love her.
If you'll ever get the chance to see this movie - don't!