User reviews

This is yet another of those cases where Anglosaxon audiences might be tempted to think that it reenforces their prejudice that German humour is a no-show.

The problem can be described in one word: subtitles. I (a native German speaker) watched the UK release which is the original German version with English subtitles. The dialogue of this film is very funny and sharp; it is quite different from contemporary funny English dialogue which usually goes for funny one-liners, it has more in common with the humour you find in Oscar Wilde, for example in The Importance of Being Earnest. In other words, the characters are constantly trying to (literally) outwit each other whilst keeping the conversation afloat. This kind of dialogue is quite fashionable in certain parts of German culture, but at least in Britain it has become fairly rare. Consequently, the translators had a difficult job on their hands.

Occasionally my eyes wandered towards the subtitles to see what the translators did with the latest banter - and I was appalled with what I found. Yes, the translation was factually accurate, i.e. the content of what was said was accurately translated, but all the wit, the sharpness, the humour had gone. As already mentioned, this was a difficult translation job, but the translators did not try hard enough.

`Maybe, Maybe Not' is one of the most odd movies I've ever seen. I liked it. I think I liked it because it is so completely different than all the American movies I'm used to seeing. In the beginning, the main character, Axel, decides to randomly have sex with some girl in the bathroom of his workplace. A woman in the next stall recognizes the key chain that dropped from one of the fornicating couple's clothes. She peeks over the stall to find her boyfriend of three years mindlessly humping another woman. She kicks him out of their apartment and throughout the rest of the movie he struggles with where to live. Initially he calls old girlfriends who all readily turn him away. Then he ends up at a `men's group' with a lot of gay guys. After that, he gets drunk at a party and goes home to sleep at one of their houses. This is when the gender preference battle begins. A lot of stereotypes were defied in this movie and I found that extremely refreshing. For example, it is commonly thought in American society that gay men are promiscuous, however in this movie, no homosexual sex is shown. There is one man-to-man kiss in the club and in another scene homosexual activity is inferred while watching slides but not directly shown on the screen. There are, however, two comparatively graphic heterosexual scenes. Another stereotype defied was the `effeminate gay men' stereotype. The main gay character, Norbert, didn't act effeminate at all, not even in drag. My favorite part of the movie however perpetuated and made fun of an existing stereotype - the stupid Stallone-loving straight guy. The guys in the movie theater were very intriguing. I thought they added welcome comic relief to an otherwise tense and dark movie.

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.

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!

There is only one reason to watch this film: sexy Til Schweiger. He has beauty and magnetism, besides being an extraordinary young actor with subtlety, understated power, and depth. Unfortunately, these qualities are all but lost in this heavy-handed comedy. It is beautifully shot but, considering its comedic intent, rather darkly so. The story and its underlying principles leave much to be desired.

Handsome Axel (Schweiger) works in a 30's-style supper club, presumably to remind us of the wacky social farces of that period. Any illusions on that score end, however, when he gallantly accompanies an inviting woman into the bathroom for a quickie. His girlfriend Doro, in the next stall, informs him that they're through. Axel is a very pretty boy but, looking for a place to stay, he is rebuffed with varying degrees of vehemence by former girlfriends all too familiar with his womanizing. Alas, Axel's unfortunate coitus interruptus is the inauspicious high point of the movie, with the opening credits barely over.

Axel is adopted by a group of 'thoughtful' gay men in his hour of need. Norbert, a middle-aged nebbish, gives him a place to stay in hopes that there is a 'maybe'. What ensues is a series of awkward and tasteless gags, mostly involving Axel's discomfort being around gays. Stereotypes abound, and no one comes off particularly well. The straight men are dorky, unattractive, and strangely mortified by the use of common euphemisms for breasts. The gay men are selfish, unattractive, and impossibly flamboyant (in case we miss the point). Doro is shrill, intolerant, and controlling. Axel is shallow, thoughtless, and virtually monosyllabic, but adorable .

When Axel speaks of 'us normal men' we know where the film stands politically. The gay men appear in female attire much of the time, but speak in caricatured bass voices (in case we miss the point). Axel is deeply offended when cruised by a gay man in a gay disco; especially surprising as he asked the man for a light and directions to the bathroom, while hot, sweaty, and very sexy in a tight muscle shirt. 'Nuff said.

The plot thickens – and so does the humor – when Doro finds that she is pregnant and decides to get Axel back. She finds him in her own bed with unsightly Norbert, disturbingly naked, in the middle of a very inept seduction. Despite this awkward reunion, Axel and Doro get married. Axel unceremoniously drops Norbert because his wife is 'allergic to gays' .

The downward spiral continues unabated. Norbert, a strict vegetarian, hooks up with a repellent and humorless butcher, about whom the best one can say is that he has shaved every inch of his gross body. Axel cheats on Doro yet again, with a woman whose animal stimulants put him a coma. We finally hit rock bottom when Doro is bitch-slapped during one last bout of hysteria, and goes into labor. This is funny?

Til Schweiger is scrumptious eye-candy, and looks stunning throughout the film in tight t-shirts, muscle shirts, open shirts, no shirt. Thank heavens for small mercies. But, in one unfortunate aesthetic choice after another, the odious older men appear in greater states of undress more often than the exquisite young man who makes this peculiar move worth watching.

The ending has a nice feeling and suggests some reconciliation between Norbert and Axel. It's way too little, too late.

This successful highlight of the Reunificated-German-Love-Comedy era doesn't hide any messages, it is new-german shameless humour with higher fun-streams. Actor Joachim Krol shows his talent, for Till Schweiger it has been his breakthrough in his career.

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.

Stupid little German sex comedy about hunky Til Schweiger living with gay Joachim Krol after girlfriend Katja Riemann catches him having sex with another girl. Then she discovers she's pregnant and wants him back. But Krol wants him too...

On the plus side--the acting is good and Schweiger (who is very handsome with a great body) has frequent nude scenes. That's about it for positives. On the negative side--the movie is silly; reinforces the myth of gay men trying to seduce straight guys; also has us believe that all gay guys LOVE drag; ALSO tells us that gay guys are sex maniacs; demonizes the female characters and has no real ending. Also none of the comedy was even remotely funny. The only reason this seems to have been made is to show Schweiger out of his clothes as much as possible (but no frontal). Nothing wrong with that and he IS a good actor...but that's not enough to carry the movie.

If you can sit through silly dialogue and the dumb plot to see Schweiger nude you won't be disappointed--otherwise you can skip it. However a previous poster did say the subtitles were badly done--that might be the problem. If I understood German I might like this better. However, as it stands, I can only give it a 3.

Because of Germany's past, one might end up believing that the German population never sees any incentive to be humorous. "Der Bewegte Mann" (called "Maybe...Maybe Not" in English) disproves that. Axel Feldheim (Til Schweiger) is thrown out by his girlfriend Doro (Katja Riemann) after she finds him cheating on her. He moves in with his gay friend Norbert Pommer (Joachim Krol). When Doro tries to talk to Axel and finds out accidentally that Norbert is gay...well you can probably figure that it leads to sort of a wacky predicament.

Anyway, the point is that the Germans CAN be funny. In fact, I believe that this was the first internationally successful German comedy. And you can't go wrong with gay comedy. It's the kind of humor where you think: "Oh no...oh yes." Cool.

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.

Hello America! I really liked the comments and especially the one of Marie Hunter (FlaminRieRie) from Akron, Ohio. For me as a German it is very interesting to learn about the international reactions on this movie since it is really one of the best German movies of all time.

Main Plot: It shows a straight man in the gay world. By coincidence he is learning about gay people, who "surprisingly" have the same problems and the same life as straight men (love, relationships, friendships etc...) No stereotypes such as promiscuous sex or so, but insights in typical gay behaviors, different gay groups and life in general. But it is also a funny story about the guy getting back to his girlfiend who thinks that he turned gay... Hillarios!

For me, as a straight guy, it was a fantastic movie. I really hope that the subtitles are o.k., since a lot of translations of Hollywood movies or TV-series are badly made (e.g. FRIENDS: brilliant in English, but terrible German translation) Enjoy!

Der Bewegte Mann (The "Moved" or "Compelled" man in German) is a fun, original, fast paced German gay comedy that was a rare hit with mainstream American audiences. The film follows the drama of straight hunky beefcake Axel (Til Schweiger) when he is befriended by a well meaning gay in Cologne, who offers him a place to stay when he is kicked out of his girlfriend's apartment. The film's pace is good and never boring complemented by the perfect soundtrack which is a mix of house and cute German Schlager tunes. The dialog is clever and quite easy to understand with a little German proficiency. A witty and savvy foreign comedy must-see.

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!

Thoughtful, witty, and bold as far as U.S. films go, Maybe ... Maybe Not was delightfully original and funny while breaking new ground on once -considered taboo subjects. The film brought new light to the effects of people of different strengths and backgrounds coming together and making the best of it.

Very funny and original, even if you don't speak German. A lot of the story and bits transcend language. I'm surprised that it has not yet been remade in the USA. The film is entitled "Maybe, Maybe Not" in English. This film also introduced me to two of the best actors in the industry-Katja Riemann and Til Schweiger. Katya Riemann also gives a stellar performance in the WWII Drama Rosenstrausse. A must-see! I can't wait to see her in the upcoming werewolf horror film "Blood & Chocolate"! Til is starting to appear in Engish speaking films like King Arthur and Deuce Bigalow 2. When will we see Katja in an English speaking role?!? Keep up the good work!

Andrea G, Anchorage,Alaska

I saw this movie a few months ago with my German class, and we were rolling on the floors. At first American audiences might be a little "on edge" when they hear about what the guy does, where he stays, and that he has no idea about the people he is staying with in the beginning. But after getting into it, you see that what he goes through is just so funny, and you can't believe that he didn't see it coming. Plus, the Bull Power is all the more reason to go see, or rent, the movie. I mean I can't believe that they didn't come up with this type of stuff in the U.S. I know a lot of people who would go out and buy it right now if they had the chance. My friends and I now have a fun time talking/joking with our teacher about the movie, and we randomly bring Red Bull energy drinks to class, just to make him laugh. It's a great movie, and everyone should see it. I loved it.

I thought it was fine. Not exactly deep stuff, but entertaining. Everything must be taken in context, if possible, and this was based on a popular comic strip by Ralf Koenig -- I'm guessing he's gay, based on other stuff I've seen of his, so whether his work perpetuates stereotypes or is the honest humor of a member of the gay community is not so easy to say. Not for me, anyway. I found Germany in the mid-1990s to be more tolerant of homosexuals than my hometown in Amerika, but a lot has changed in the intervening years. Anyway, political incorrectness aside, I think of this as a light comedy about relationships, like another Soenke Wortmann films I've seen [Stadtgespraech]. For students of the German language, it was a wonderful opportunity to catch some slang and modern, conversational German that we don't see in deep, intellectual films based on historical or literary sources.

This movie is an example of how good comedy made in Germany can be. Young actors (back then the upcoming new German stars), funny, yet believable situations and characters which have not been overdone or seem crude. No matter if gay or straight, if you are not biased against German comedy (or maybe even if you are, and rightly so), watch this one. If you liked "In And Out" and "The Birdcage", you will surely like "Der Bewegte Mann". Maybe it's not as glamorous or exalted like it's US counterparts - after all, we are conservative here ;-) - it's still worth watching. My rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Okay, I'm just a sophomore in high school and I take German 3 Honors, and I watched this film over the summer just to view as many German movies as I could. Most of them that I watched were rather stupid, but this one stood out as one of my favorites. It kind of reminds of the humor of Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss! Rent this movie if youre bored, or just want to have some fun!