Recommendations of the Editorial team
For his TV column “Willander Watches TV” in October 2021, ROLLING STONE editor Arne Willander viewed Oliver Polak’s “Your Life Is A Joke”, with Christian Ulmen as a guest. According to “Spiegel”, Ulmen’s former partner Collien Fernandes has now filed a criminal complaint against him. There are allegations that go far beyond private conflicts and could reach criminal law dimensions. The presenter describes the events as a massive invasion of her personality and speaks of “virtual rape”. According to the report, she supports her account with extensive evidence, including affidavits and digital traces. In “Your Life Is A Joke,” both comedians talk about fetishes. Read the 2021 column here.
Arne Willander watches TV: Christian Ulmen in Oliver Polak’s “Your Life Is a Joke”
Two men with beards drive through Potsdam in an Opel Manta. Oliver Polak is behind the wheel wearing large Loddel sunglasses, and Christian Ulmen is sitting next to him with a worker’s cap. Suddenly Polak turns on the title song of his new series, a kind of Barry Manilow ballad, and sings along: “Your life is a joke/ But everything is okay.” You can’t tell from Ulmen’s embarrassed facial expressions whether he’s embarrassed or touched. He tells how he used to want to imitate Harald Schmidt.
Ulmen shoots his series “Jerks” in Potsdam, and he also lives here. Polak asks if the residents aren’t irritated when this strange bird walks through the neighborhood. The guy from “Jerks” of course! Elms guides Polak to a hardware store where it “smells so nice,” of wood and carpets. He sniffs a roll of carpet. He then shows Polak a chainsaw, which he balances on his chin. Ulmen says that as a teenager he worked for a telephone sex agency with a disguised voice. Polak asks if he has a fetish. No. Polak then explains that after having one testicle amputated, he wanted to try a certain sexual practice before the other testicle was removed. But the escort woman didn’t come. Elmen quickly moves on through the shelves.
Elmen clings to Polak’s massive body. But now it’s really getting too cold
Now you can see the two comedians shivering in swimming trunks by a lake. When they are up to their necks in water, Polak asks whether Ulmen actually has any friends. Some people would call it that, says Ulmen, but he is incredibly good at being alone. Polak suggests that they could hug and it would be less cold. Elmen clings to Polak’s massive body. But now it’s really getting too cold.
In a car wash, Oliver Polak sings to “That’s What Friends Are For”. The cell phone interrupts the lecture. Ulmen invites Polak to his favorite restaurant in a palace, where there are crabs with baby fennel and Königsberger meatballs. At the end, standup comedian Polak lovingly makes fun of Elmen in a roast: “You look how I feel.”
“Your Life is a Joke” comfortably combines Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” with “Carpool Karaoke” and “Through the Night with…”. This is going very well. Because the sentimental Oliver Polak has the stoic coolness not to be ashamed of any intimacy.
