Monaco Franze - Der ewige Stenz (1983– ) User Reviews

one of the best commentaries on early 8ties Munich

[super-leo-1 · 9/10 · 21 December 2005]

it's quite (!!!) difficult for a non-German to get the point of this mid-8ties TV-series of Helmut Dietl, but i have to admit as a right now thirty-something that this is one of my best childhood/teenage TV-experiences ever. full of ironic Bavarian laissez-Faire, post-Schwabing wanna-be state-of-the-art chic, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that only the people can relate to that actually have been there at that time.

nothing can beat "kir royal" just because it's so good. but right behind it's "monaco Franze".

also the acting of Helmut Fischer and Ruth-Maria Kubitschek is one of the performances displayed on German TV.

if you ever get hold of the DVD-version of this series you will laugh your ass off cos you get a grip of Bavarian thinking and lifestyle.

nice little one

[didiermustntdie · 7/10 · 13 October 2010]

don't be mislead by other reviews and the plot summary. it seems like after reading them, one will expect it to be like a "sex and city" type TV series like I..

no, on the contrary, it's very complete non-sexual, there isn't sex or implied sex in it, not even a kiss(except friendly one). even China or India today don't make TVs like that anymore..the TV is about the little life of a bourgeois couple, husband is a cop ,wife is a businesswoman dealing in artworks. the husband is quite innocent and light hearted, though 50 years old, he seems like a big child(OK, today's kids are more than that!). he often falls in love with girls he randomly sees on street..yes!, fall in love! there is one episode, to win the heart of a girl he just meets, he decides to be a boxer.. however the main content is more about the guy and his relationship with his well mannered wife .his wife is wife,sister, mother to him at the same time..and various trivial things.

anyway if such kind a man exists in real life, he certainly deserves huge love around. so i suggest the plot keyword "womanizer" be deleted.because it's derogatory..well, I'm certainly aware that there are likable womanizers like Cary Grant type. but he is still not.

I voting 7 doesn't mean it's not good enough, i'm just more strict

Der Hammer!!!! Munich in the 80s.

[TAEMO · 10/10 · 1 October 2004]

I recently bought this title on DVD because I have always liked MONACO FRANZE, but it is such a luxury to watch all the episodes at once, without interruption. And it is so good, trust me. To all Americans, if you think Fonzie is cool, watch this, than you know Franz Muenchinger aka Monaco is cool. Although he is married, and although he loves his wive dearly, he always pursues younger girls, sometimes three at a time.

And it is so funny. For example, his wive Annette (Ruth-Maria Kubitschek)moves in high-society circles and loves to go to the opera with a group of doctors and lawyers. Monaco on the other hand, being a down to earth man, doesn't like it at all. He tries to find excuses to the last. And when he realises, he can not escape the opera, he almost collapses and breaks out in sweat. You just have to see it.

Or in one episode called "Machts nur so weiter!" (Just go on that way!) Annette realises, that a financial crisis is at hand and tries to save money where possible. There is a very funny scene with her and her assistant, inter cut with a scene with Franz and some of his girls sitting in the English Garden. Annette tells her assistant, that they never had so less money since the war, Monaco in the park tells the girls, that he never was so well to do, feeding them with salmon, wine and wild strawberries. And every time he is buying something and should it only be ice-cream, he pays with a 1000 DM bill.

Monaco Franze is a jewel of German or Bavarian TV along with "Irgenwie und sowieso". You will seldom find a better mini- series, with better actors, a better script and a better direction. Everything in those categories is top notch. Not to forget the nostalgic aspects of this show. Bavaria in the 80s, especially Munich, you just have to like the setting.

All in all, there is nothing negative to say about this show, except that there are only ten episodes.

Want to learn about Munich? Watch "Monaco Franze".

[t_atzmueller · 27 September 2011]

If you ever come to Munich, the capital of the free-state of Bavaria, you must know two things about Munich: the locals are proud of the city that they themselves call "Minga", but will feel flattered when hearing its Italian name, Monaco. The second thing is that they not only believe their city to be special and different from every other one but they also believe that about themselves. Since it was first aired on German TV, "Monaco Franze" has become part of Bavarian folklore, capturing like few other films or TV shows the essence and soul capital city and although they might not admit it, many locals from Munich will view the character of Monaco Franze as archetypical Munichian and will identify with many of his traits, quirks and characteristics. If you so will, "Monaco Franze" isn't just the story of a man but a study of a city.

"Monaco Franze – Der Ewige Stenz" (Stenz being colloquial speak for womanizer) has been described as a comedy, a satire, a farce but at it's core, the show is not as light as the it pretends to be, exploring the complex German social- and class-hierarchy: Franz Münchinger is a retired policeman, an undeniable proletarian (though he does everything the camouflage that), while his wife, Annette von Soettigen (Ruth-Maria Kubitschek, excellent), representing the upper-class of the bourgeoisie. Franz enjoys to appear as a man of the realm, always knowing which champagne and caviar are the priciest, but inside despising the upper class society, high culture and opera. He also despises hard labour, concentrating on spending his wife's money, womanizing and snappy clothes, through and through a lovable and charming scoundrel. Essentially his life-style, as it must, will take Franz down the only logical path: downhill. The final episode sees Franz and his with his estranged wife reuniting – by now Franz has degenerated into a "Sandler", as the bums living under the bridges are called in Munich are called.

Together with "Kir Royal", "Monaco Franze" remains among the finest mini-series produced in the 80's, a decade that was rich in excellent TV-shows. Helmut Dietl was wise to create this as a limited series, each chapter representing the odyssey of Franz Münchinger from the top to the bottom.

It may be difficult to see the charm (or even reason) of the show if you're not familiar with southern German culture and mentality and doesn't have the borderless appeal of films like "Das Boot" or "Christiane F – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" – but if you're already interested in Munich, it's citizens and the Bavarian mentality in general, there's no way to get around "Monaco Franze".

If you're ever in beautiful Munich, after having passed the Hofbraeuhaus or are on your way to spend money on overpriced beer at the Oktoberfest, why don't you go visit him? His counterfeit sits near the Englischer Garten, eternally enjoying the sun and the mild west-wind.

Some solid episodes, but too many absurd moments, almost caricature-like

[Horst_In_Translation · 5/10 · 12 February 2019]

"Monaco Franze - Der ewige Stenz" is a German/Bavarian mini series from 1983, so this one is already over 35 years old and it is one of many mini-series by the late well-respected German filmmaker Helmut Dietl. It consists of 10 episodes between 45 and 50 minutes, so you can watch the entire thing in 8 hours approximately if you intend to, but I suggest 2 or better 3 sitting for this one. Or just skip it. Lead actor is another Helmut, back when this was still a common name here in Germany, Helmut Fischer and he is long gone too, died way before Dietl. But he is still known here in Germany for his long career and this one here may very well be his most famous. If you speak a bit German and have no clue what a Stenz is, then don't worry. This word is not really used anymore here in Germany and I am sure 90%, probably more, of people have never heard it. It basically describes the protagonist here, a man who loves himself more than anybody else and here he shows it to us by his constant attempts to impress young women and get them to be with him. But it is nothing graphic or anything and we don't even find out to which extent (sexually) he is successful because we should perceive him as likable from start to finish. "Hallodri" is a word you could use in Germany too. Fischer in his mid-50s here is joined by Ruth-Maria Kubitsche playing his wife and she is still alive today and seemingly the only woman who can stand the Stenz in the long run and is willing to forgive him his lack of faithfulness. The best episodes in my opinion and maybe the only ones worth seeing were 1, 3, 7 and 8. They were okay and had some funny moments, but eventually it does get a bit repetitive as it is all just about the Stenz' clumsy love stories. Like when he is rejuvenated and acts like a young man again falling in love with a very young woman and telling her she can quite her job etc. and he will pay for everything from now on. So he does, but the woman cares little about him, all about his money. Or another scene when they see a cultural event and Stenz is the only one critical, but really only just because he talked to an influential critic before and this way impresses his wife by seeing through the event's simplicity. Pretty fake. And at the end, there is this bizarre story line about moving to the Bermudas. But this is made up for by the Stenz' idea to say goodbye to everybody, basically every woman he had an interest in at some point and it is true what another character says that this will take him years. It does not sound equally funny writing it, but it was watching. And I think almost nobody could have made the character work better than Fischer. By the way, Christine Kaufmann is in it too, past her Hollywood glory already when she was very young, and she plays one of the biggest supporting characters with more of a connection to Kubitschek's character than Fischer's. There are also some fun performances from other familiar faces like Thomas Gottschalk in the very first episode. Gisela Schneeberger appears in the same episode. Later on you see Sedlmayr, Bayrhammer, Fierek, Wessely yeah the list goes on, but it is never about anybody else than Fischer and his character. A close call for me if I should recommend this one. I'd rather go with a no, but I think you should decide for yourself if this Bavarian humor is your thing. I liked it most of the time, which is probably surprising as I have almost zero connection with Bavaria and come from another completely different part of Germany. So yeah watch the first episode and decide for yourself then because after that one it is not really getting any better, so if you don't like that one (enough) already, then watch something else instead. 2.5 stars out of 5.