I read baharuka's review of Schlussmacher with interest, trying to ascertain how it was like an American comedy. I guess the idea was that it was light. Maybe the Germans are known for being rather overbearing; I don't know, I'm not sure I have ever seen a German comedy before. Well, maybe. At any rate, though, I think I felt heartened as I watched the movie because, as an American used to some of the typical comedic fare, I felt it was different from anything I had ever seen coming out of this country.
I won't mention the places where I felt the movie departed from the American so as not to spoil it for those who may wish to watch it afresh, which I think would be a good idea; me, I don't even like to know what a movie is about before I go into it. Let's just say that there was some refreshing humor and I loved the morale of the story. I felt the story was actually a lot more uplifting than much I have seen lately, being positive about romantic love ... as the Desiderata says, Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Everything about the movie was well-done as far as I could see, including the fabulous spaces in which these 20-somethings lived. Many a man may like a car driven here, too. Berlin was a beautiful backdrop. At one point as the hero and his antihero sidekick ... whom you will probably come to love ... were walking single-file, some amazing monumental buildings, relics no doubt from the era of Kaisers and the like, reared up behind them like monsters' heads. It was only at the end when the movie resorted to a couple of cheap ploys and schtick that one could perhaps say that the movie began to seem rather American, or maybe pedestrian could be the word. Also, the question could be asked, how was our hero going to keep his loft? But who ever worries about and works those things out in a movie? I guess, as in life, you have to field the curveballs. I thought it was very cute ... and, again, positive. Worth the watch, imho.
