Here we have a movie called "Judith Kemp" and this one is from 2004, so already over 15 years old. Of course, this has nothing to do with former basketball superstar Shawn Kemp, but this somehow came to my mind because the name Kemp is not particularly common here in Germany at all. Never heard of somebody with that name from my country here. So this film is of course in the German language and it runs, like most small screen releases, for 1.5 hours almost, especially for most small screen releases that involved ARD Degeto and Regina Ziegler. These two are really as low as it gets in terms of German television movies and they have made hundreds of films really and the gigantic majority of these turned out really weak. This one here is definitely not an exception. But let's be honest here: This project was doomed from the start. Take a look at the man who wrote the screenplay here. This would be Uwe Wilhelm. Despite being active for almost 25 years here, this man has literally no quality in his body of work and his career-defining scripts came from "Marienhof" and "Hinter Gittern - Der Frauenknast". Self-explanatory really. Good thing is that according to imdb he has released nothing new in over five years, so he may very well be retired. And if you think he is bad already, then take a look at Helmut Metzger's filmography. He was the director here. Let's just see what he did in the new millennium. Over 20 episodes of cheese Katie Fforde adaptations. Over 30 episodes of "Um Himmels Willen". Ad to that some Rosamunde Pilcher and Traumschiff. Don't think I really have to say anything about the quality of these projects and this one we got here is exactly on the same level, which means really, really low. Deep down there with the worst German television has to offer. An absolute atrocity that this and all the other Degeto movies are paid for by money that the German people are forced to pay. Unreal stuff really. But now, let's focus on this one here. The title is certainly a bit unusual. From all these Degeto films, it is not too often the case that they include name in the title and on those rare occasions where they did, it was just the first name, usually of a female characcter. here we get the full name: Judith Kemp. I have seen many and I don't remember this being the case elsewhere. I also read that they had plans to turn this film into a series and perhaps it would have happened if it hadn't been for lead actress Jennifer Nitsch dying months before this film had its premiere. So if there is one positive thing to her death, then that no series got made. Also not with another actress. Other than that, it was a tragedy of course. The circumstances were also pretty bizarre. I don't want to go into detail about how she died in detail, but until today it is not 100% safe if it was a suicide or an accident, even if most people think she took her own life on purpose. This is what I am referring to with the title of my review. But her death was not the only one. The actor who played her boss in here, with his memorable beard, was Gunter Berger, another really prolific performer and he lived for a decade after this movie, but is also no longer with us anymore. He was in his early 70s at that point, so not extremely untimely. And finally, Sven Pippig, the guy who plays the fairly incompetent, but not totally unlikable, chubby lawyer also died a long time before he should have. So a bit depressing this film from the perspective of what happened to several cast members here, most of all the lead actress. For her it was her final movie. Just one television aired even later for the first time. I know you should not speak badly about the dead, but Nitsch was definitely not a good actress and you could see it here. I mean Gesine Cukrowski is also not good, but she is still better and more memorable than Nitsch, even if the latter is much more at the center of the story. So much for the basics.
Now, let me elaborate on the story and why I felt this was pretty poor overall. And that is still a gentle way to put it. I mean it is the usual you see from Degeto all the time and also from Regina Ziegler's production company. The female protagonist is literally a saint, really smart, really kind, really hard-working etc. Literally flawless. I already had enough when I saw the jogging scene at the very start of the film and how she talks to the guy there. We get it. She is better than him. Not just fitter. And he admires her. Keep in mind, he barely saw her behind him. He did not know for how long she has been running. But yeah, she easily runs away seconds later. Or the scene when she sees that injured boy there with all his wounds and how she cannot take her eyes off him, even when another character demands her attention. It's tough to watch. And not because of the injuries. Then there is this scene with the guys knocking on the door and how she puts them in their places, especially the bigger one who did the talking. Not sure what I can say there. Cringe galore as well, even bigger probably at the beginning of this scene when she just responds with yes or no for three or four questions. By the way, of course the protagonist's considerably older boss is also all over her and crushing on her. For that, he also ignores the guideline in his company that there shall be no affairs between employees. And what happens when she rejects him? Like when she takes away her hand? He is about to fire her. Charming. So, just like (almost) all the other Degeto and Ziegler films, this one here is also extremely anti-male. So many examples. Most of them are also linked to sex or genitals. Just take the comment early on that she whispers into the guy's ear what she will do if he does not let go of her. His kids shouldn't hear though. Oh yes of course, I didn't say already that she is also a mother with two beautiful kids that are doing really fine. Unreal. Okay, I was talking about the anti-male moments. A lot more. Take Cukrowski's comments about faking something. Or another occasion where one character jokes about cutting off a male genital. You can see from all these inclusions that these films are almost always directed at women. So I applaud every woman who sees through all this nonsense. By the way, this was far from everything we got here in terms of misandry. Just look at the characters in general. The boss wants to have sex with the female protagonist. The dude at the door who chokes the protagonist is really violent and dangerous and the other lawyer (Pippig) is as incompetent as it gets. Unbelievable actually that this film was made by two men in key positions, the ones I mentioned earlier. And right when you thought that things could not get any worse, we are getting this little staged situation at the very end in which the bad guy is tricked and exposed you can say, so Cukrowski's character with the help of wonder lawyer finally gets that she deserves from a financial perspective. Oh my. Let's not even talk about this final "highlight" of the film with Berger's character, Nitsch's character and her wig etc. Oh yes, a really safe indicator of how good (or bad in fact) these films are is what the kids do. Not necessarily if the kids give good performances, but really what they are saying and how authentic it feels. This is the case here as well. Whenever Nitsch's character is talking to her children, we see that there is no talent from the screen writer. Absolutely no surprise though, for he messed up in key areas really, so how could anyone think that he mastered the maybe most difficult challenge linked to this film. Nothing positive I can say here at all, except that judging from the quality here, it is an absolutely good thing there were no sequels or even a series, no matter if it had been with Nitsch or another actress. May the fallen rest in peace. Them not being with us anymore does not make this a better film though. It's absolutely horrible from beginning to end. But yeah, Julia Richter is fairly stunning and I have had a soft spot for Cukrowski too at times, but not in this film here I must say. That's all. Absolutely skip.
Now, let me elaborate on the story and why I felt this was pretty poor overall. And that is still a gentle way to put it. I mean it is the usual you see from Degeto all the time and also from Regina Ziegler's production company. The female protagonist is literally a saint, really smart, really kind, really hard-working etc. Literally flawless. I already had enough when I saw the jogging scene at the very start of the film and how she talks to the guy there. We get it. She is better than him. Not just fitter. And he admires her. Keep in mind, he barely saw her behind him. He did not know for how long she has been running. But yeah, she easily runs away seconds later. Or the scene when she sees that injured boy there with all his wounds and how she cannot take her eyes off him, even when another character demands her attention. It's tough to watch. And not because of the injuries. Then there is this scene with the guys knocking on the door and how she puts them in their places, especially the bigger one who did the talking. Not sure what I can say there. Cringe galore as well, even bigger probably at the beginning of this scene when she just responds with yes or no for three or four questions. By the way, of course the protagonist's considerably older boss is also all over her and crushing on her. For that, he also ignores the guideline in his company that there shall be no affairs between employees. And what happens when she rejects him? Like when she takes away her hand? He is about to fire her. Charming. So, just like (almost) all the other Degeto and Ziegler films, this one here is also extremely anti-male. So many examples. Most of them are also linked to sex or genitals. Just take the comment early on that she whispers into the guy's ear what she will do if he does not let go of her. His kids shouldn't hear though. Oh yes of course, I didn't say already that she is also a mother with two beautiful kids that are doing really fine. Unreal. Okay, I was talking about the anti-male moments. A lot more. Take Cukrowski's comments about faking something. Or another occasion where one character jokes about cutting off a male genital. You can see from all these inclusions that these films are almost always directed at women. So I applaud every woman who sees through all this nonsense. By the way, this was far from everything we got here in terms of misandry. Just look at the characters in general. The boss wants to have sex with the female protagonist. The dude at the door who chokes the protagonist is really violent and dangerous and the other lawyer (Pippig) is as incompetent as it gets. Unbelievable actually that this film was made by two men in key positions, the ones I mentioned earlier. And right when you thought that things could not get any worse, we are getting this little staged situation at the very end in which the bad guy is tricked and exposed you can say, so Cukrowski's character with the help of wonder lawyer finally gets that she deserves from a financial perspective. Oh my. Let's not even talk about this final "highlight" of the film with Berger's character, Nitsch's character and her wig etc. Oh yes, a really safe indicator of how good (or bad in fact) these films are is what the kids do. Not necessarily if the kids give good performances, but really what they are saying and how authentic it feels. This is the case here as well. Whenever Nitsch's character is talking to her children, we see that there is no talent from the screen writer. Absolutely no surprise though, for he messed up in key areas really, so how could anyone think that he mastered the maybe most difficult challenge linked to this film. Nothing positive I can say here at all, except that judging from the quality here, it is an absolutely good thing there were no sequels or even a series, no matter if it had been with Nitsch or another actress. May the fallen rest in peace. Them not being with us anymore does not make this a better film though. It's absolutely horrible from beginning to end. But yeah, Julia Richter is fairly stunning and I have had a soft spot for Cukrowski too at times, but not in this film here I must say. That's all. Absolutely skip.
