"Wilder Westen, inclusive" is a West German mini-series from 1988, so 2 more years and it will have its 30th anniversary. This one is by Dieter Wedel, the king of German mini-series and could be seen for the first time on German television before the Christmas holidays 1988. It runs for approximately 5 hours all in all and consists of three episodes, each of which run slightly over 90 minutes. German film nerds (especially in terms of previous decades) may find some familiar names in the cast, even if there are no really huge stars in this one. But lets not forget: It is a small screen production. The male protagonist decides to go on a trip to the USA with his daughter, a friend and his girlfriend, but the actual group ends up looking slightly different. But this won't keep them from making the trip.
I thought this film was at its most entertaining in the first episode, especially the first 45-60 minutes. It is pretty chaotic, but in a funny way for the most part and I certainly enjoyed the watch at that point, which was really before the adventure begins. But this is also the only sequence that I really considered worth watching. The next 4 hours are nothing too interesting sadly. The focus should have been on the four main characters of the film and instead it switches to supporting characters the longer the film goes. Of course, it is tough to make a film about only 4 people for such a long runtime, but this would have been the right approach. The new love interest to the protagonist's ex-wife (and the other woman) adds very little to the film I must say and these two boys who enter the daughter's life were also very uninteresting.
Lead actress Krystyna Janda played her part in Polish and was dubbed afterward. Striebeck, Steeger, Postel and Schenk may also be known to some. Gudrun Gabriel is probably not a big name, but I liked her inclusion because of how stunning she is and she looks so similar to Marian Cotillard. But back to the action. Sadly, the film quickly turns into pointless seesaw changes about which character will end up in a relationship with whom and these permanent partner-swapping made it eventually not only very unrealistic, but I also couldn't care less anymore with whom my favorite characters would end up with. Also the longer the film goes, the less it feels like a comedy as which it somehow started, but the film is a relationship drama and as such, the way it was written, it has almost no value. It was even cringeworthy how seriously it took itself at times. Also the actions by the characters did not really make any sense anymore at some point looking at how they (re)acted early on. The wild west parts also were not memorable at all. All in all, I wish this film could have stayed as good as it started, but far from it. I don't recommend the watch. Thumbs down.
I thought this film was at its most entertaining in the first episode, especially the first 45-60 minutes. It is pretty chaotic, but in a funny way for the most part and I certainly enjoyed the watch at that point, which was really before the adventure begins. But this is also the only sequence that I really considered worth watching. The next 4 hours are nothing too interesting sadly. The focus should have been on the four main characters of the film and instead it switches to supporting characters the longer the film goes. Of course, it is tough to make a film about only 4 people for such a long runtime, but this would have been the right approach. The new love interest to the protagonist's ex-wife (and the other woman) adds very little to the film I must say and these two boys who enter the daughter's life were also very uninteresting.
Lead actress Krystyna Janda played her part in Polish and was dubbed afterward. Striebeck, Steeger, Postel and Schenk may also be known to some. Gudrun Gabriel is probably not a big name, but I liked her inclusion because of how stunning she is and she looks so similar to Marian Cotillard. But back to the action. Sadly, the film quickly turns into pointless seesaw changes about which character will end up in a relationship with whom and these permanent partner-swapping made it eventually not only very unrealistic, but I also couldn't care less anymore with whom my favorite characters would end up with. Also the longer the film goes, the less it feels like a comedy as which it somehow started, but the film is a relationship drama and as such, the way it was written, it has almost no value. It was even cringeworthy how seriously it took itself at times. Also the actions by the characters did not really make any sense anymore at some point looking at how they (re)acted early on. The wild west parts also were not memorable at all. All in all, I wish this film could have stayed as good as it started, but far from it. I don't recommend the watch. Thumbs down.