ajmpro

It's a nice little premise, well shot in an American Gothic style with a decent soundtrack.

But, overall, it's utterly ridiculous. There are weird acting choices all over the place - most characters act like they're in a 90's soap opera, reacting to all the gruesome, mind-bending stuff like everyday life's little challenges.

The weird pacing of the plot, its numbing mix of long passages of interpersonal BS drama with nonsensical "revelations" of new mysteries without any connection makes this the equivalent of a Griswold Christmas turkey: it looks great when brought to the table, but once you cut into it, collapses into a dry, meatless mess.

Otto Waalkes is maybe the most famous German comedian of the 80s. After doing stand-up and a TV series, he started writing scripts for movies, where he played the lead character. "Der Ausserfrisische" is his third movie and in my opinion the best Otto-movie of them all.

But that doesn't mean it is a good movie overall. Most gags are pretty trivial, one might even say stupid. But others really make you laugh - especially the ones taking place in the USA, where the main character Otto has to go to find his brother to prevent the destruction of the beautiful, natural landscape of his home Ostfriesland. The stupid German guy from the countryside in the big city - nothing new at all, but at some points still worth watching. One of my favorite scenes is where Ottos brother Benno explains to him the sign language to be used in a club.

Here is the bottom line: If you do not like Otto Waalkes, do not watch the movie. It will be a tremendous waste of time for you. If you do like him, get yourself a beer, lean back and enjoy this meaningless German movie while falling asleep on the couch.