"Die Hochzeit meiner Schwester", which means "My Sister's Wedding", is a German television film from 2014, so this one is over five years already now and like the vast majority of small screen productions here in Germany, it runs for slightly under 1.5 hours. The director is Marco Serafini from Luxembourg, who was slightly under 60 back then when this was made, and he is truly a very prolific filmmaker here in Germany. However, the fact that many of his projects are not good at all (Rosamunde Pilcher) and others are completely unknown makes it obvious that he is not a big name and more about quantity than about quality. The two writers here, Stewart and Mühlfellner, are considerably less experienced than their director. As for the cast, I'd say it is not particularly good, not even for a television film. On the other hand, this is evidence that you do not need a big name cast to come up with an at least slightly above-average film because this is what they did here. Maybe the most known cast member is Konstantin Wecker, who always switches a bit back and forth between acting and music and while he is known for his craft here in Germany, he is sadly also known for his struggles with substance abuse. I hope the latter is now really a thing of the past. Another fairly interesting cast addition here is probably Olivia Pascal. She was a pretty big star in softcore movies decades ago really and here she plays a more serious role for once, namely the former partner of Wecker's character. The protagonist in the center of the film is played by Chiara Schoras and well, what can I say? I kinda like her. She is probably not a really gifted actress, but she has solid recognition value and also her looks clearly don't hurt. I can see why this one other character was pretty crazy about her. Still, this also results in one of my major criticisms when it comes to this movie and this is a similar issue in so many films. Clearly these films are mostly made for women because they are shown in the afternoon when more women (than men) have the time to watch this film at home. The result is that every male charcater is depicted in a bad way somehow. Be it Wecker's who left his family for a young chick back then, be it the groom-to-be who just is too boring apparently, be it his dad who does not take enough care for his wife anymore or be it the guy who is constantly drooling over Schoras' character. They are all depicted (even if not entirely) in a pretty negative light. Another criticism I have here is that the ending for really everybody felt too happy for my taste and fairly unrealistic overall. This is no exception either though when it comes to German television films. I wish they could have found a better way between crowd pleaser and realism here. I mean come on, the parents of the groom are about to break up and now all of a sudden they go travel together around the world out of nowhere. The woman in this scenario is played by Despina Pajanou who maybe some could recognize from an older RTL (I think show). Now she plays grandmother characters. How time flies.
Okay, but despite this criticisms I still think this was an okay movie. Compared to a lot of the garbage shown here on german television frequently, it was almost a revelation even must be said. By general standards I'd say a three out of five is pretty accurate overall. This has to do with subjective reasons like Schoras that I mentioned earlier, but also I think they did a lot right that other films sucked with. The best example is that they did not go too much over the top with the drama. Just one example when Wecker's character sits down there on their long trip I was already worried that maybe they will include a plot twist about him being terminally sick and he wants to see his kids and family again. No such thing luckily. Pseudo emotion of the worst kind it would have been and this is sadly the stuff you get in many other movies. Overall, the key plot with the wedding (according to the title) is not 100% the key plot as it is pretty much equal with some other ideas. Probably the idea of the father coming back into their lives is even more significant, although obviously it is linked closely with the marriage too. A bit too much of a coincidence. The film's weakest moment was maybe the kiss between Pajanou's and Wecker's characters. Or well, really only Pajanou's you could say too. The way how the situation is solved, also thanks to the father talking to his younger daughter when she is scared of getting married, reminded me a bit of the Clooney movie "Up in the Air" from over ten years ago and maybe it is a bit far-fetched but I felt there were parallels, although obviously it must be said there is not a single area where this film here comes close to the Reitman classic otherwise. The latter is a masterpiece. Alright, I guess this is pretty much all then. Overall there are flaws and some characters could have needed better elaboration badly as they feel they are just there (like Pascal's) although being somewhat in the center of the film, but I still believe the good is more frequent than the bad here. So if you like the genre and German films, then go for it, even if admittedly you skip the watch here, you aren't missing too much either. A cautious thumbs-up, also for the nice cinematography. Definitely more beautiful landscapes in here than expected.
Okay, but despite this criticisms I still think this was an okay movie. Compared to a lot of the garbage shown here on german television frequently, it was almost a revelation even must be said. By general standards I'd say a three out of five is pretty accurate overall. This has to do with subjective reasons like Schoras that I mentioned earlier, but also I think they did a lot right that other films sucked with. The best example is that they did not go too much over the top with the drama. Just one example when Wecker's character sits down there on their long trip I was already worried that maybe they will include a plot twist about him being terminally sick and he wants to see his kids and family again. No such thing luckily. Pseudo emotion of the worst kind it would have been and this is sadly the stuff you get in many other movies. Overall, the key plot with the wedding (according to the title) is not 100% the key plot as it is pretty much equal with some other ideas. Probably the idea of the father coming back into their lives is even more significant, although obviously it is linked closely with the marriage too. A bit too much of a coincidence. The film's weakest moment was maybe the kiss between Pajanou's and Wecker's characters. Or well, really only Pajanou's you could say too. The way how the situation is solved, also thanks to the father talking to his younger daughter when she is scared of getting married, reminded me a bit of the Clooney movie "Up in the Air" from over ten years ago and maybe it is a bit far-fetched but I felt there were parallels, although obviously it must be said there is not a single area where this film here comes close to the Reitman classic otherwise. The latter is a masterpiece. Alright, I guess this is pretty much all then. Overall there are flaws and some characters could have needed better elaboration badly as they feel they are just there (like Pascal's) although being somewhat in the center of the film, but I still believe the good is more frequent than the bad here. So if you like the genre and German films, then go for it, even if admittedly you skip the watch here, you aren't missing too much either. A cautious thumbs-up, also for the nice cinematography. Definitely more beautiful landscapes in here than expected.