Männer wie wir

I just recently watched "Guys and Balls" and thought it superb. It far exceeded my expectations. What a pleasant surprise since so many gay themed movies flop on arrival.

It's basically about a young man named Ecki, played brilliantly by (Maximilian Bruckner) who gets busted kissing another guy and is outed to his friends and family. He is then subsequently booted from his local soccer team. Angry, he them challenges them to a soccer match made up by his soon to be all-gay football squad. He leaves home and goes to live with his sister while assembling a rag tag group of gay men who are appalling at playing the game and comprise of every gay cliché on the market. Still, these stereotypes are not offensive, mainly because all the players come across as such nice guys. Ecki, also falls for Sven, an attractive male nurse at the hospital where his sister works. Both these guys are cast perfectly, making for a sweet and believable couple.

If you want to settle back and watch a pleasant, funny, romantic movie with a heartwarming ending, then "Guys and Balls" is the movie for you. I watched it, loved it and now I own it.

I was really looking forward to seeing this film ever since I saw an ad for it on TV. And when I finally went and saw it I was not disappointed at all. On the contrary: this is a great film! It's funny, light-hearted and brilliantly cast. The story focuses on Ecki, a young man who works in a bakery in a very small rural community and plays football in his local team. When his team-members find out that he is gay they throw him out of the team. With the help of his sister he subsequently tries to form an all-gay football-team to challenge his old team in a match. And this journey through tough-guy town Dortmund is really, really funny! The incredibly talented cast (especially leading man Maximilian Brückner) pull every scene off and make it believable. OK, there are clichés in this film but they are also made fun of and not taken seriously at the same time. The movie also features a love story between Ecki and Sven, his cute team-mate and these two characters are totally cliché-free.

This is a very good film and I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a really good laugh, see really good acting and a really touching love story - all in one film!

Let's face the facts - there is one dominant and popular area in Western society where homosexuality is still an absolute no-no, where it simply doesn't exist (officially of course) : And this is....? Yes, it's football. Excitement and fun for billions of people all around the globe. But although roughly 5% of mankind can be considered as gay or at least bisexual no professional player ever had his public coming-out. (But statistically speaking in every team there must be at least one..which would mean a minimum of 18-20 in the German Bundesliga alone)... This is the sociological background any critic should take into account before criticizing "Männer wie wir" too harsh. Yes, I agree, in some parts this film is a bit stereotypical, but the important and optimistic message counts more than its occasional lack of sophisticated and complex characterization. Maybe this is also one of the reasons why many heterosexuals (even the liberal and educated type) feel uneasy about this film. They simply don't want gays to enter one their last retreats of pure and sweaty straight manhood. And the notion that some of these queers might even turn out to be adequate opponents on the pitch (as it happened in "Männer wie wir") is just ...like finally loosing in a penalty shoot-out after a comfortable lead.

I found the movie very entertaining, sometimes it was pushing the stereotypes, but it was never ever insulting. Actually it was a gay friend that recommended me to watch the movie. As a matter of fact, the movie portrayed gay men as very diverse showing different personalities with different attributes. It is a great comedy, not comparable to ridiculously and sometimes even offending movies like "Traumschiff Enterprise". Maenner wie wir paints a very positive picture of gay men and does hold a very supporting view in a comedian fashion. In fact, every major character shows understanding and respect for gay men by the end of the movie. I have to add that I thought the acting of Eckis parents (Saskia Vester and Dietmar Baer) was just great.

Sure, this movie follows a formula, actually many formulas, about gay vs. straight flicks, soccer flicks, sports hero flicks, guy gets the guy flicks - but it does them all VERY well and with both love and humour. Although there is every cliché in the book here about masculinity and coming out, there is an equal emphasis on NON-stereotypical gay men. Ercin the Turkish player is as nelly as they come but hey, he's a Turk represented in a German soccer flick, AND his Dad is obviously 100% supportive and proud of him, fluffy hand-gestures and all. Hotte may be a stereotypical leather guy, but he's also a juggernaut on the field who strikes terror in his opponents. Our hero is so gosh-golly "straight-looking" that I had trouble believing in him as a gay guy in the opening sequence, but his dalliances with Sven change all that. I've been out since 1979 and have seen ALL the big- name "gay" movies. Some good, some downright awful. This one felt real, was engaging from the outset and made me laugh, good hearty belly-laughs, from end to end. I loved it. You will too.