Viktor Vogel - Commercial Man

This is a very insightful film. The lead actor, Alexander Scheer, is the ultimate casting choice. He portrays physically a geek like nobody else. The film itself examines the rapid accent into popularity and money, the selling of original values and building a fake existence.

It is humorous and follows a realistic ideology. The two scenes that form the core of the film is the guerrilla filming in the super market (with the subtext of war journalism) and the subsequent weekend, which forms a nostalgic look on youth with an older character (as opposed to an observing role.)

Götz George provides the excellent effigy of lost but regained youth and principle. Chulpan Khamatova is perfect as the perky pseudo-rebellious artist with rich and disapproving parents.

A film worthwhile seeing more than once, first to enjoy and then to analyze.

If you're in advertising (like I am), or are about to get into advertising you should check out this movie. If you're not interested in it then don't bother. There are so few movies around that get into the business of advertising. From the pitch to idea development to a campaign rollout, it's kinda cool to see it in the movies...and in a mostly hip and humorous way. As one of the other reviewers said, it's not REALLY all that funny...but it made me chuckle.

This is quite cliche ridden, but still enjoyable to a degree, if you don't mind that. The actors are good and the story predictable. The movie might be a testament of its time, but it also is just another comedy - though the addition of Götz George will be a delight for quite a few watching it.

Having said that, there is conflict, there is resolution and there is coincidence and there is quite the weird behavior. Still bad decisions aside and quite a few characters (maybe one or two too many) being disposable, this was still fun to watch. There is some criticism and there is sort of social commentary, but it's not overly heavy - for better or worse

As I said... I thought this movie was cute... my fiancee and myself enjoyed it immensely. It's not groundbreaking or earthshattering by any means but this film has a good heart. It's sort of basically like 'Trainspotting' meets 'How To Get Ahead In Advertising' German-style. Any movie that has the guts to poke at the soft white underbelly of the corporate advertising beast is alright with me.

An interesting note is that in this movie which is about not making compromises to big-money ad clients they changed the North American title to 'Advertising Rules' and there is sort of a gratuitous disclaimer in the beginning pointing this fact out. How ironic that some advertising exec (who obviously didn't pay attention to the film's message) felt the need to change the name...

One of the sentences you learn going to a filmschool is: "A comedy is only a comedy if someone is laughing. If nobody is laughing, then it is not a comedy. It is something else."

I think this is what best fits for this film. It is a story about a young guy (Viktor Vogel, whyever this comic-name) seeking a job in a big commercial company. He finally gets there, but only because the company needs him to make a deal with Opel. After the deal has gone, he is kind of thrown out.

That's the story. I don't think it's funny. Let alone all those little things like the (german) synchronization, of the mumbling voice of Götz George, of all the stereotyped characters without any depth nor wound. The film was okay if it would have been broadcast on the television. But it simply doesn't fit into a cinema room. For this it is too "small".

I'd recommend this film only for: how not to make a funny film.