Oh Boy

The title of this award-winning 2014 German film is a tease, since the protagonist spends the day the movie describes trying—and failing—to score a cup of joe. Would he had gotten it, and he might have been better prepared for his frustrating encounters with his girlfriends (present and possible future), his dad, the creator of an unintentionally hilarious performance art piece, and some drunken toughs, among others. As it is, he is "a victim of inertia," says Washington Post reviewer Stephanie Merry, a young man who has so far chucked his opportunities into an ocean of cool. Jan Ole Gerster's debut film, starring Tom Schilling as Niko (originally titled Oh, Boy), has created a likable if drifting protagonist and given him situations punctuated with absurd humor. You want Niko to pull himself together and for the sparks of empathy we see to flame into action. One of those flames occurs near the end of the film, when he hears a rambling, drunken tale that calls forth thoughts of people who really had it bad. Great musical score by Cherilyn MacNeil and The Major Minors.