By Markus Tschiedert
A battle of superheroes has broken out at the top of the German cinema charts. The Flash couldn’t dethrone Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts had to settle for #3.
So we definitely need something to laugh about this week. This is primarily ensured by Jennifer Lawrence in the summer comedy “No Hard Feelings” and the new Pixar production “Elemental” with humor that is also suitable for children.
“No Hard Feelings” – Jennifer Lawrence fights stark naked
THE STORY: In order not to lose her house, Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence) desperately needs a car to earn money as an Uber driver. She sees an ad: ‘A car for a date with our son’. In fact, the 33-year-old should seduce the teenager Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) on behalf of the rich parents so that the hermit finally loses his innocence. Then they both actually fall in love.
THE STARS: 2012 was an absolute lucky year for Jennifer Lawrence. With the first part of the “Hunger Games” film series, she became world famous in one fell swoop, and she received an Oscar for her role in “Silver Linings”. Andrew Barth Feldman (“Foul Play”) plays his first leading role here. Ex-teen star Matthew Broderick (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) stars as his father.
THE DIRECTOR: Gene Stupnitsky first became known as the author of the series “The Office”. He celebrated his first success as a cinema director in 2019 with the comedy “Good Boys”.
BG RATING: A cheeky and just as enchanting romantic comedy, which one gladly surrenders to. That’s largely thanks to the spirited Jennifer Lawrence and the shy Andrew Barth Feldman. Opposites attract and they couldn’t be further apart. But that’s exactly what creates the tension and a lot of daring humor when Lawrence, for example, beats up a horde of boys on the beach who want to steal their clothes, stark naked (103 min., free from the age of 12).
“The Rumba Therapy” – daughter or dance teacher?
Tony (Franck Dubosc) wants to get to know his unknown daughter Maria through dancing Photo: New Visions
THE STORY: School bus driver Tony (Franck Dubosc) is thrown off track by a heart attack. Realizing that life is finite, the 50-year-old decides to meet his daughter Maria (Louna Espinosa), whose mother he abandoned after she was born. Maria is a dance teacher and Tony goes to her class incognito at first.
THE DIRECTOR: Franck Dubosc appeared in German cinemas for the first time in 1986 with “Her mit den Jungs”. As an actor he was also seen in “Asterix at the Olympic Games” and “The Visitors – Storming of the Bastille”. After “Love gets everything rolling”, the Frenchman directed this for the second time.
THE STARS: So far, Louna Espinosa has played supporting roles, such as in the series “Balthazar” or in the film “Fires in the Dark”. For her, “The Rumba Therapy” is her ticket to the big film business. Jean-Pierre Darroussin (“House by the Sea”) plays Franck Dubosc’s best friend.
BZ rating: With his second directorial work, Dubosc is moving on safe paths. A man who only gets into a life crisis in old age and is purified. A lovable, odd guy that you like to take to your heart. But as soon as the fronts have been clarified, wit and speed unfortunately decrease (120 min., free from the age of 12).
The special film: “Until the end of the night”
Transwoman Leni (Thea Ehrlich) is supposed to convict a drug dealer, for which she is promised freedom Photo: Grandfilm
THE STORY: A drug dealer is to be arrested. But the only way to get to him is through the imprisoned trans woman Leni (Thea Ehrlich). She is promised freedom if she covertly introduces the policeman Robert (Timocin Ziegler) as her boyfriend into the scene. But in reality he likes men and knows Leni when her name was Lenard.
THE STARS: Timocin Ziegler studied at the ‘Ernst Busch’ drama school and has appeared in the theater (‘Fabian’ at the Schaubühne) and on television (‘Tatort’). It is also Thea Ehrlich’s first role in a movie. For this she received the Silver Bear at the Berlinale 2023.
THE DIRECTOR: Most recently, Christoph Hochhäusler brought “The Lies of the Winners” with Florian David Fitz to the cinema in 2014. Before that he had screened “Falscher Confessor” and “Unter dir die Stadt” at film festivals.
BZ rating: “Until the end of the night” wants to be a mix of thriller and love drama. Unfortunately, neither of the two genres is really served. At most, the entanglements between a gay man and a trans woman could arouse curiosity, but that doesn’t make it any more exciting either (120 min., free from the age of 12).
Cinema for kids: “Elemental”
Two like fire and water – will that work out? Photo: Disney
THE STORY: In Elemental City, the fire family Lumen wants to start a new life. Daughter Ember quickly gets angry and causes an accident. This attracts the water man Wade, who is always ready to cry. When both fall in love, horror breaks out. Because fire and water don’t get along, but that doesn’t stop Ember and Wade.
THE STARS: The voice tested Emilia Schüle (“How to Train Your Dragon”) as Ember and Jannis Niewöhner (“The Gangster Gang”) as Wade could be won for the German dubbing. Both have been in front of the camera for films such as “Jugend ohne Gott” or “High Society” and were once a couple in real life.
THE DIRECTOR: Peter Sohn learned his craft at Pixar, where he was involved early on in works such as Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. He made his first feature film as a director in 2015 with “Arlo & Spot”.
BZ rating: The fact that the four elements fire, water, earth and air are humanized in this animated film is certainly new and cute. But the story is old hat and uses “Romeo & Juliet” as well as “West Side Story”. But topics such as xenophobia and overcoming social hurdles remain secondary. In the foreground is a motley cinema cracker that’s already a bit slippery (102 min., free from 0).