It's rather funny how two movies coming out of Germany at approximately the same time and released in New York City one after the other at the same theatre (the Quad) dealt with subject matter as predictable as a pop tune. Where SOMMERSTURM dealt with the coming-of-age of a young gay man, GUYS AND BALLS is the often-told story of the underdog, with everything but the kitchen sink going against him, and his chance to make his mark and claim a much-deserved victory. The underdog in question is Ecki (Maximilian Bruckner) who is given the task of assembling his own -- a gay soccer team, and face off with his former team. This is all rather okay stuff -- the movie rolls along at a pretty brisk pace -- but one big minus is the fact that including Ecki, most of the other gay men are treated pretty much as garbage throughout the movie's entirety: one of them, a leather-daddy, has a son whom his she-hag of a (former) wife won't let him even get close to, and after a while, the homophobic taunts get a little tiring. However, the addition of David Rott (Sven) into the mix livens things up considerably. In short, GUYS AND BALLS is entertaining fluff despite its uglier undertones and it's kept afloat due to its good cast and gab for visual puns.
Review of Guys and Balls
