Shake It All About

Spoiled want-it-all Jacob wants to marry his male partner Jørgen, but happens to fall for Jørgen´s brother´s wife, leading to many hilarious situations and poignant moments. Actress Hella Joof´s directing debut has laugh-out-loud comedy and sensitive drama in equal measures, with excellent performances by the three leads, Mads Mikkelsen as Jacob, Troels Lyby as his long-suffering partner, and Charlotte Munck as the girl who gets between them. Gay stereotypes abound, but performed by a talented cast, with Peter Frödin and Nikolaj Steen as standouts. Film has its share of flaws and doesn´t quite steer clear of romantic movie clichés, that airport-set denouement just doesn´t ring true, but the film is so appealing that you probably won´t mind. Written by the director and actor Klaus Bondam (who appears as a priest with a red-dyed porcupine haircut) For Danish viewers: Look for an unrecognizable Lars Hjortshøj as an alcoholic and Zlatko Buric as a cab-driver. Be sure to stick around for the end credits and check out the Polaroid snapshots for one final hilarious punchline involving the identity of "Sørmand"! ***

This film is about a man who is about to marry the man he loves, but falls for his sister instead.

"Shake It All About" is an unconventional romantic comedy. It's well written, and the story is engaging. It's an emotional roller-coaster that exposes a painful reality. Troels Lyby's acting as Jorgen is phenomenal. His character faces many adversities, and each time Lyby conveys his sadness, frustration and anger very well. I can see his pain and I can feel his pain. The lunch party scene where Jacob packs up is the best example of his splendid acting. I would certainly want to watch more of his films. Mads Mikkelsen is disappointing on the other hand. He does not carry his emotions as thoroughly as Troels Lyby. I enjoyed watching "Shake It All About".

To give a short summary of the movie it´s about a gay couple, and their difficulties when one of them falls in love with a woman.

I had high expectations prior to seeing this movie because many of my friends had recommended it to me. On top of that, it was one of the best reviewed Danish movies of the year, but I was truely disappointed. A movie that in it´s trailer wishes to appear as a fun, light hearted movie that contains funny scenes such as one where the main character compares his boyfriends penis to vegetable. But this movie is only sporadically funny. It tries to combine a much to serious story with jokes that could have been part of American Pie. THAT does not work.

Mads Mikkelsen(perhaps THE most popular actor in Denmark) seems out of place and constantly gives one the impression that he would rather have been somewhere else. But having said that, I still must still applaud many of the actors appearing in this movie, Troels Lyby(who represents the serious(but sadly boring) part of the movie, Peter Frödin(funny as always) and Nikolai Steen(extremely funny in a quite grotesque role.

So the conclusion to my review is: if you wish to see a funny movie(that does not share the bottom level of scary movie or not another teen movie) - don´t waste your money here. Amelie or Bridget Jones´diary are much higher on my scale.

evaluation 5/10

The premise is good, the actors excellent and the music score well chosen. It is a really hard try to achieve something really sympathetic. So why does it fail on most levels? The main blame must lie with the script. First, it is not funny! And with a romantic comedy that must be close to a deadly sin. There are a few chuckles, but otherwise nothing. Secondly, the characters are rather badly drawn. I have no doubt that they are meant to be extremely interesting, but their behaviour are absurd most of the time because we never really get to know them properly. We are thrown into the plot head first without any background to who they are and what makes them tick. Like a previous reviewer wrote, this film is filled with supporting characters, including the main protagonists! The female doctor is the only REAL person who manages to make a REAL impression, but she only has about a minute of screen time. As to the actors, they really try, but I am not convinced that they agree which kind of movie they are in. Charlotte Munch seems to think this is some kind of serious relationship drama and responds accordingly, looking troubled in almost every scene. Mikkelsen and Lyby have no chemistry whatsoever together and one wonders what they saw in each other in the first place. The usually excellent Mikkelsen seems unhappy about the whole thing and manages to look bored with BOTH his man and his woman. Lyby is the one actor who comes off the best. He is the most sympathetic in this "comedy" and responds to his plight with some kind of normal reaction. He is sweet guy with a whole lot of emotions and also some sense of humour who really deserves someone better and more focused than the guy Mikkelsen portrays. Other than that we get a gallery of more or less eccentric people who bend over backwards to get a laugh from the audience, but fail at every turn. And then there is the ending!!!! Pleeeease, take it away!! I suppose it's meant to be heartwarming but it only comes across as phony and ridiculous. But it is not hard going despite all my reservations. You can watch it if there is nothing else to do, it will cause you no pain...but nor will it stay in the memory for longer than one minute or so! Loved the score though...

This is a true feelgood movie, trying to be a more liberal but succeeding with the base genre without more ado. It is a warm, pleasing experience, best suited for anxiety-filled hung-over Sundays.

Although classical stereotypes shine through, the film makes an honest attempt to broaden the rom-com genre by being more liberal-minded and equal in attitude.

What gives the film an edge are the side characters - as previously pointed out, fronted by the brilliant doctor in the hospital scene. Joof's sense of detail (in this way most close to classic Disneys) does not save the movie however, and it ends a pleasant but short memory.