Les nouveaux mecs

I saw this film in Germany when it came out as I was living there at the time. It was one of the funniest films I ever saw. Some years later I got a subtitled copy back in England and was shocked at how unfunny it was when translated. Which goes to show that humour often only works in the language it was created in.

That said, it is still a very unstylised view of culture clashes and a study of how far people are prepared to go when they aren't getting any sex. No one gets what they want by the end: the gay man doesn't get his straight friend; the straight man doesn't get his free-love lifestyle; the straight woman doesn't get her angry singledom.

I guess the moral is that you can take the human out of their sexuality, but you can't take the sexuality out of the human. Trite, but it reflects the title of the film, referring to a proverbial fish out of water.

Ok where to start.. Well I hate American movies, and when they make comedies there's no soul to it, merely funny events which happen to be funny only for Americans. But this movie has its deep side too, like most European movies. Norbert's "rough" boyfriend, the incident with Axel and his former classmate, and the rough boyfriend doing the girl in the bathtub while Axel stands frozen like a fly.. That scene was absolutely priceless.

As for the casting, Katja Riemann is not only beautiful as a goddess, she's also an awesome actress. It's so surprising that she doesn't have the fame she deserves. Or maybe not, considering how many copies of DVD's boring Hollywood movies sell... Each time the word "gay" comes up in this movie, her gestures and facial expressions are outstandingly flawless. Even if you start watching the movie after the 40th minute and start from a scene with that word, you'd perfectly understand she's sick of homosexuality. Joachim Krol and Til Schweiger are also performing great here. I actually thought Joachim Krol was gay in real life after watching the movie. Well I don't have any evidence about his sexuality, but chances are he's not.

My German is quite rusty and I still loved this movie. I'm sure I would like it even more if I understood the dialogues perfectly. So go and watch this movie, and shoot me if you don't like it. A little note, the main characters of this movie can be classified as eye candy. Katja Riemann is beautiful, and Til Schweiger is handsome. And with their acting skills, the movie becomes a delicious pastime.

This is gem of a movie which does not lose any of its wit and charm with the passage of time. The fast pace and irreverence to social institutions kept us howling until our sides ached. Don't misunderstand me, however; the plot of one mans journey to his sexuality is pursued with fever right up to its hilarious climax! I would say that anyone of any sexual orientation with a sense of humor should watch this one with a friend or lover or both!

Based on the work of Ralf König -- the king (no pun intended) of the Teutonic queer comic strip -- Wortmann has made a film about the vicissitudes of coming out. Hand in hand, these two men from the country of "poets and thinkers" dare utter the words: "we are German, we are funny, and we are not ashamed!" In case you missed Wortmann's "Kleine Haie" (1992) -- a road film about three young men coming to grips with their thespianism -- here's proof that comedy is not merely a genre inflicted unilaterally by Hollywood on the rest of the world. Although this film does make concessions in order to be more palatable to its hetero viewership, it is clearly head-and-shoulders above recent Hollywood forays into the queer-exploitation venue such as the abysmal "In&Out" featuring Kevin Kline. After Fassbinder and Wenders it now looks like Germany has a commercially viable director with something worthwhile to say!

This film is about a man's life turning upside down after spending the night in a gay man's house.

This film is so funny! The acting is great, the two lead characters, Axel and Norbert are outstanding. Axel is a man who cannot say no to temptation. Norbert, is a secret admirer of Axel. He is cute and hilarious. Axel's wife, Doro, accidentally discovers her husband befriending Norbert. One coincidence after another, she becomes convinced of her husband's homosexuality.

The plot is also very good. Though I can only catch German isolated phrases here and there, I still find the film entertaining. I laughed out loud many times. The sets are also decorated nicely, each of the apartments are set up so that they really feel like a home sweet home. Apart from being entertaining, it also promotes tolerance and diversity.