Maria, ihm schmeckt's nicht!

It seems inevitable, that after the success of the small budget movie "My big fat Greek wedding" there would be other people who'd try to rip off on that success. And while that is not a bad thing, you'd wish the movies would try to set higher standards and not only cash-in on a trend.

This movie is filled with clichés and as I was told never reaches the books diverseness. Not that comes as a surprise (books have the freedom of being free to explore everything, plus the reader can imagine different things, while reading it), but it's still a shame. And while this isn't completely ridiculous, it still is far away from showing is something real (the connection between the people and many other things), but still too dramatic and wrongly paced to be as funny as it could.

Not that Nia Vardalos movie was better (if you watch her output after that, it only got worse though), but it was more successful ...

The Germans Jan and Sara want to marry. The problem: Her father Antonio is Italian and used to have things his way. So the wedding is to take place in Campobello, in the midst of Antonio's numerous family. Jan faces bravely the hurdles thrown in his way: frutti di mare in every dish despite his allergy, a bed not fit to sleep in, strange pictures and temperamental family members who mistrust him because he doesn't seem as enthusiastic as they wish him to be. Many hilarious situations ensue - some of which you may have seen in other films, but nevertheless they appear fresh and witty, due to the screen writing and the superb acting on the part of Christian Ulmen and Lino Banfi, supported by an equally good cast. The locations in Italy add their own charm to the film. The only weakness of the film is the ending, which is surprising, but still seems a little lame. The rest is fun to watch, recommended for a summer evening. Note: This film is an adaptation of Jan Weiler's autobiographical book of the same title, Weiler also co-wrote the screenplay. Since I haven't read the book, I can't compare the film to it.

I have to write this review, as the film's current rating (5.9) is far too low. Already the book was good fun, including some deeper moments, especially when the main protagonist Antonio Marcipane tells about his arrival and first years as an immigrant ("Gastarbeiter") in Germany. The director of the film does a terrific job in combining humorous elements with these more difficult parts of Antonio's character, without becoming too melodramatic. The film is shot in Southern Italy with beautiful, yet realistic images. Camera and cutting is imaginative, the casting convincing (Lino Banfi is a well-known and successful Italian actor). I can only speculate that the low ratings were given by people expecting a pure, Hollywood-type slapstick comedy. Fortunately, the movie is so much more than that. Go see it!

P.S: Being a German married to an Italian wife, we both felt remembered Italo-German experiences while watching the movie...