Das Gelbe vom Ei (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews

Kinda fun on many (not all) occasions

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 30 December 2016]

"Das Gelbe vom Ei" is a German television movie from 1999, so it's already 17 years old now as of 2016. At that point, television (crime) films were already improving in terms of quality and here we even have a decent example of a good comedy film from 1990s's Germany. The writer and director is Lars Becker and he has worked on other quality projects since then, still making movies today. I think this film is pretty underseen and also would have deserved more awards recognition. I will not mention all the cast members, but there are certainly some pretty famous names in here that every German film buff will immediately recognize. And wow, Meret Becker looked really stunningly amazing. I think this film is not really about the individual performances or characters, but about the story and the entire thing with what happened to whom. There is a slightly dramatic moment in here occasionally and I think these work as well as the funny moments. I am talking about a scene when a nerdy guy is on a date with a woman and the film does not turn into a schmaltzy romance there, but the date turns out exactly as expected. So yeah, I think the movie manages a good balance between keeping it realistic and still keeping it unrealistic enough for it to be funny. This is quite an achievement and I applaud Becker for succeeding to that regard. I also liked how the film is not scared of being politically incorrect when it comes to the humor and even being pretty crude. You certainly have to take a risk to make a genuinely funny comedy. Of course, especially with comedies, the subjective approach and preference always plays a big role and I can see from the rating that many people did not make a connection with this film, which is perfectly fine as they will find other films funnier that maybe I don't like. But I know I liked this one. Even when it is a bit absurd, to me, it never felt funny for the sake of it and this is always a deal-breaker when it comes to me recommending or not recommending a film. These 1.5 hours are certainly worth seeing in my opinion and not only to see some of Germany's most established actors during their early career years. I laughed and that's why I give it a thumbs-up. Recommended.