7 Zwerge

Okay, I must admit: it IS a very silly movie! But the bigger comedies from Germany are always silly, and „Seven Dwarfs' is no exception. When you compare him to the other two big comedies this year, „Traumschiff Surprise' and „Der Wixxer', you will find the same sense of humor. The question is: do you like this kind of humor? Then go and see the movie, it will be not brilliant (like the other two) but satisfying (like the other two). Like in ZAZ-Movies or simple Gross-Out-Comedies, you better leave your brain outside in the car and enjoy, because it is a fun event to watch this kind of movie. More then a dozen of German comedians in bigger and smaller parts: find them, check them out, notice their comedy routines and feel a little bit like a 12-year-old - the only way it works. It's good to see, that this movie is no typical Otto-Movie, because his last two outings were flat or plain bad. In "7 Dwarfs' his role is thankfully smaller, giving room to his co-stars. Positive to mention are: Punkrock-Icon Nina Hagen as the evil queen (even if you hate her in real life, like me, you have to admit, that her timing is great), Rüdiger Hoffmann with his absurd slow burn humor is perfect as the magic mirror and Martin Schneider as dwarf „Speedy' (who is really slow and very big) is quite perfect. Hans-Werner Olm as the queens dark helper qualifies himself for better rolls (also non-comedic) and the absurdest of German comedians, Helge Schneider, who mixes absurd monologues with a great talent for Jazz in his shows, has a funny moment as Gandalf-Lookalike „The Wise/White Helge'. Not so funny: German Talkmaster Harald Schmidt who plays himself as a candidate for the court jester job, „Traumschiff'-Veteran Christian Tramitz, who has (as the hunter) to deal with a lot of weak lines and Ralf Schmitz, who can't show his talents from TV, because his dwarf „Sunny' is definitely a weak point of the whole movie. And don't think to much about kind of „messages' in the jokes: after films, which should be funny because of racial stereotypes, excessive drinking, puking, crapping, re-animating dogs, eating dog-shit, drinking sperm in beer and f**king apple pies, I don't see a problem in the (absolutely funny)„Hitting-Women'-Joke, when all the male characters are hitting themselves through the whole movie. The Neger/Jaeger-Gag is a cheap joke (and they even repeat him), but everyone, who thinks he has a problem with those lighthearted jokes, must check, if he is not a better visitor for the next Visconti-Retrospective or a Woody-Allen-Festival. Much more charm, then I expected, I don't care for many misses, I had enough hits to laugh about. (7/10)

I haven't seen something like this since the Holy Grail. Sure it is obvious. Sure they are all jokes your dad thinks are funny and everyone else groans at. This is like pantomime. You KNOW everything is ridiculous and exaggerated. The delivery and execution of classic lines are very good, and even though you know exactly what to expect, they still make you smile when they are delivered. This is a film that can only be appreciated when you have developed a very fine sense of irony whilst retaining the ability to laugh at simple things and yourself. There are multiple pop culture references that may elude someone not familiar with German culture, but for me, it was a fine illustration that not all comedy must be sophisticated on the surface. Don't watch this if you think American Pie is Champagne comedy. Your sense of irony won't be refined enough to appreciate it. The delivery of gags in this is also faster than for a typical Hollywood style movie. The buildup for each dull joke doesn't take half the movie and leave you squirming, KNOWING that X is going to happen, you just have to wait for it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When I saw this movie, I noticed, that it had one joke in it, that made me laugh (that's OK - Periode 1: Traumschiff Surprise sported nil).

And it had Helge Schneider in it, too. What else could one ask for?

In Detail: Waalkes is still a main character. That's a bummer because the best Waalkes parts were the samples and tidbits of his silly noises played during the end credits.

Rüdiger Hoffmann actually filled his small role pretty well (he plays the magic mirror). One wouldn't expect that, knowing him as a so-called comedian.

The others aren't really worth mentioning. And I refuse to give credits to Nina Hagen, as others feel driven to do.

Luckily enough, as I said, Helge Schneider is in it, in too small a role, though, unfortunately.

So all in all a movie that can be missed out with no regrets.

I found 7 Zwerge to be a delightful German film and highly recommend it.

However, it contains some language based jokes which don't translate well to English, so beware if you don't speak German and watch the film with subtitles to miss a few of the good jokes. But there is still plenty there for those who don't speak the language and overall the plot and humor translates quite well.

A great film with a fairly simple plot that is great to watch if you are trying to learn German but also great for anyone who really loves foreign films.

Highly recommended to fans of German comedy!

I actually found it quite humorous. Given, Otto played his usual self, which is getting a bit old. But I still enjoyed it overall. Especially the board game and the mirror.

I also liked the subtle little details on the map, at the beginning, where the villages were named after the actors. And I saw it as a nice little game, to notice and point out the different cameo actors, who weren't mentioned in the trailer/promotion.

There were some scenes that made me cringe, hence only 6 stars, but others were good for at least a giggle.

The word "Neger" used in the movie, is not a derogative word, but actually means "Negro" and not "the N word" at all. The derogative word actually is the same word in German as it is in English.