Helge Schneider is really famous in Germany and that is probably due to his very unique brand of comedy and movies. There's pretty much the opposite of a clean plot. It appears all very random and strange, but if his approach to comedy manages to entertain you it may very well be the greatest thing ever. Schneider turns 60 next month, so I thought why not give some of his works another watch. "Praxis Dr. Hasenbein" is a film he made roughly 20 years ago and as always there are no famous German actors in there. The cast basically consists of people that are friends to Schneider or band colleague or just actors (or non-actors) that he has known for a long time. The story is the most important factor in his movies, especially the dialogs. It's all strangely captivating and basically all the characters in the films are so absurd and over-the-top that you simply cannot look away at times. I can't say there are great emotions or a truly dramatic plot in here, even if a cute little pet gets killed in this one, but Schneider's films are 100% comedy anyway with excessive costumes and from that perspective they absolutely deliver. Also, in this one, female characters are often played by males in drag and that is frequently the case in his films too.
Anyway, in here Schneider plays the doctor that is mentioned in the title and we see occasionally how he interacts with patients in his very unique manner. Or we see how he goes the local kiosk and buys surprise bags. I was at least as curious as he was looking at what's inside. But the real reason to watch this are all the dialogs and interactions between the characters. Truly hilarious. Sometimes it seems so normal as we all would do it, but there is always a somewhat absurd note to these. One example. "my wife forbid me to smoke" "you don't have a wife" "oh right, but I have a boy". Needless to say that the "boy" and son to Hasenbein is played by a man pretty much Schneider's age or older who has three times the size of Schneider, yet still acts as if he was his little kid. As I said before, this kind of humor will certainly not appeal to everybody, but if it's your cup of tea you will have a great time watching this 93-minute film written by, directed by and starring Helge Schneider. Recommended.
Anyway, in here Schneider plays the doctor that is mentioned in the title and we see occasionally how he interacts with patients in his very unique manner. Or we see how he goes the local kiosk and buys surprise bags. I was at least as curious as he was looking at what's inside. But the real reason to watch this are all the dialogs and interactions between the characters. Truly hilarious. Sometimes it seems so normal as we all would do it, but there is always a somewhat absurd note to these. One example. "my wife forbid me to smoke" "you don't have a wife" "oh right, but I have a boy". Needless to say that the "boy" and son to Hasenbein is played by a man pretty much Schneider's age or older who has three times the size of Schneider, yet still acts as if he was his little kid. As I said before, this kind of humor will certainly not appeal to everybody, but if it's your cup of tea you will have a great time watching this 93-minute film written by, directed by and starring Helge Schneider. Recommended.
