Girls on top (3 Stars)

The original title of this 2001 German film is "Mädchen Mädchen", which translates literally as "Girls Girls". The English title doesn't make sense, but then again, does the German title have any meaning? Its similarity to "Sex and the City" would make me want to call it "Sex and the High School". Next time a German film is going to be released in English they should ask me first.

The film is about three 18-year-old schoolgirls who have never had an orgasm. Their plight is made more difficult by the fact that they all have sexually active parents. One has a hippy mother who has made tapes about the power of sex. One has a mother who works as a sex therapist. One has a father who is dating a model who is featured in margarine adverts. The film doesn't really reach a conclusion, it just rambles on. There's no happy ending, at least not as far as the sexual satisfaction is concerned. Together they reach the conclusion that orgasms aren't as important as people say they are. "My mother has lots of orgasms and she's not happy". Is that really the message the director wants to give us? The film starts with the three girls losing a volleyball game, and it ends with them winning a game, but the film has absolutely nothing to do with volleyball, so it's incomprehensible why the story is bookended by the games.

Director Dennis Gansel has made some very good films, such as "We are the night", "The Wave" and "Napola". In comparison, this film is an embarrassment. It's a mess. It's supposed to be a teen comedy, but it's turned out as a film about teenage angst. It's impossible to sympathise with the three girls, I can only feel pity for them.