"Gut zu Vögeln" is a German 90-minute movie from January 2016, so this one is slightly over a year old now and it is the most known work from the career of director and co-writer Mira Thiel. She has almost exclusively worked on all kinds of documentaries until this point and this movie is her transition to big screen comedies. Is it a successful one? Absolutely not. I think early on this movie is still somewhat bearable to watch. I don't think it was any good or even memorable, but least it avoided being a failure. This, however, is what it turns to in the second half of the film, the second 45 minutes. People who are into Schweighöfer films etc. will maybe find this even a bit funny, but people with an actually distinguished, good taste in films will see this one for what it is. An utter mess. The title is already a pretty good reference what to expect here. Germans will understand this as one of the plays on words that has gotten much older and unfunnier now than any others. The characters even say at one point how weak this one is and still the movie is named after it. It isn't smart either as there is no bird in this film or anything else that justifies the title.
Anyway, if you take a look at the cast and know a bit about German films, you will even recognize one or the other somewhat known German actor. But almost none of these are known for real talent, but rather for recognition value. The epitome of the cast here is Susan Sideropoulos who shows in here why she will never rise above daily soap opera level and this is true for 75% of the cast probably. I am actually a bit surprised to see Oliver Kalkofe in such a garbage movie, even if he is doing his own thing mostly in the couple scenes he is in. These films are the big screen equivalent of all the television stuff he criticizes so harshly, so I really would not have expected him in here. As for the plot, it is very predictable and the worst thing is that when it is not predictable, then it is extremely unrealistic. The worst about it all is the comedy though. It is about farting, feces, urine, about pencils in urethrae etc. Oh yeah, male genitalia are also referenced on several occasions. It is pretty embarrassing how cringeworthy the comedy here is and how hard the writers tried to make it funny, but they come oh so short. It is always the most embarrassing when so many people work on a script and then it turns out as disastrous as it does here.
The actors also do not elevate the material. In their defense you can say that it would have needed a Daniel Day-Lewis to make this film work, but also not in their defense it needs to be sad that they are all basically as weak as the script and even make it look worse at times. A word on Max Giermann: I think he is one of Germany's greatest comedians, especially when it comes to imitations he may be no°1 even. But playing a fictitious character in a comedy film is something entirely different and he comes short just like the rest of his co-actors. Anything good to say about this one? Lead actress Anja Knauer is pretty good-looking, but that's it. It's almost impossible to care for any of the characters or hope for them to fins happiness the way they are written and portrayed. This film is mediocre at its best moments and a catastrophe at its worst. Stay far far away as this one is a prime example of all that is wrong with German comedies these days.
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