Reine Geschmacksache

In the U.S., it's called Fashion Victims, but in it's native German, its "Reine Geschmacksache". Co-Written and directed by Ingo Rasper, it's the story of a week in the life of the Zenker family. Dad (Edgar Selge) is a salesman in the clothing industry, and needs the help of his gay son Karsten (Florian Bartholomai). Except that Karsten had other plans, which causes even MORE friction between father and son, which was already pretty bad . Mom (Franziska Walser) and Dad are always bickering, which doesn't help the mood. The first 40 minutes are very dark and depressing, as things just get worse and worse. Then Karsten meets up with one of Dad's co-workers, and things start to happen..... This was the fourth project written and directed by Rasper, and it won several awards at European film festivals. I wish they had used a different font for the subtitles, as they are very well done, but a little hard to read. Good story -- an hour and a half long. Too bad none of the other Rasper are available on amazon.

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, and I tried to like it, but it's just awful. Maybe I just don't get German humor, but to me this was a frenetic 96-minute barrage of (almost) universally unbelievable, completely obnoxious, cartoonish characters, stupider "comic" situations than you'd ever see on even the very worst TV sit-com, and ridiculous, extremely heavy-handed slapstick. The only even slightly redeeming feature is Florian Bartholomäi in the lead role as Karsten. He's cute, sweet and charming, and he comes light years closer than anybody else to acting something like a real human being. I can't believe he'd ever have looked twice at a shallow jerk like Steven if he hadn't been the first man who ever paid attention to him. I'd like very much to see Bartholomäi in a good movie, but unfortunately this is not it. This is a real lemon.

An utterly charming movie on how a dysfunctional family goes through the growing pains together. The family patriarch Mr. Zenker is a wayward fashion sales rep caught up in a career crisis. He is failing as a father and husband, not least due to his self importance and reluctance to change. Edgar Selge's portrayal of this caricature-like character is phenomenal. While all the heavy-lifting performance falls on Edgar, Florian Bartholomäi's approaches Karsten just as masterfully with great tenderness and subtelty. They are the two clear standout actors in this film for me.

It is not surprising that this movie was quite polarizing on its audience. I think the suspension of disbelief is a must for the pure enjoyment of it. But for me personally, the absurdism of the plot is balanced out by the realism imbued into each character. I absolutely adore this movie.

FASHION VICTIMS (Reine Geschmacksache) is an entertaining little film that seems to have its roots in the French farce genre: characters running topsy turvy into situations that include hidden identities, well paced plans that go awry for odd reasons, and in general a healthy look at human foibles. Writers Tom Streuber and Ingo Rasper (who also directs) have dished up this confection with just the right amount of social comment, interpersonal relationship challenges, business antics, and family disasters to keep the comedy moving. And fortunately they have a fine cast of excellent actors to assure its success.

Grumpy egocentric Wolfgang Zenker (Edgar Selge) is first a clothing line salesman in the fashion industry and second an abusive husband to Erika (Franziska Walser) and his closeted son Karsten (Florian Bartholomäi), a young lad who yearns to go off to university to study Spanish but is shamed into being a driver for his father when the police reveal that Wolfgang has a suspended license. One of Wolfgang's business competitors Steven Brookmüller (Roman Knizka), a handsome young man with an eye for Karsten, parts company with Wolfgang - a fact that begins a chase of boutique visits and competition that alienates Wolfgang even further from his son and wife. When Wolfgang's true financial picture is as bleak as possible, both Erika (encouraged by her single girlfriend Brigitta (Traute Höss) and Karsten elect to indulge in their own futures, and in a series of hilarious accidents the lives of all the characters collide and change.

Fast paced, well photographed, and warmly acted, FASHION VICTIMS is a fun film that though it is listed as a gay movie, there is little in the story other than some momentary suggestions to deserve that label. This is a fun farce that should find a wide audience seeking a little escape from reality! Grady Harp