Schlussmacher (3 Stars)

The Fantasy Film Festival is over, so I can get back to watching normal films. If you can call this film normal. It's a German comedy film. Somehow Germans and comedy don't go well together. I don't understand what the problem is. They try their hardest, but they can't make me laugh.

Paul Voigt is played by Matthias Schweighöfer, who also directs the film. He works for Happy End, a separation agency in Berlin. I thought separation agencies were invented for this film, but they really do exist. Happy End helps with organisation and counselling when a relationship breaks up. It doesn't matter whether it's a marriage or just a love affair; Happy End is there to make the break up as pleasant as possible.

Interestingly, the separation agency only receives payment after the relationship has ended. That means that Paul makes no attempt to keep a couple together. It's not about marriage counselling. It's the exact opposite. If it looks like the couple are changing their minds about separating, Paul convinces them how much happier they will be when they're single. "You can find yourself a younger, prettier wife".

Paul is Happy End's most successful employee. He's assisted in the separation of almost 1000 couples. Is that something to be proud of? He's been promised to be made a partner (like in a law firm) when he reaches 1000.

One day he visits Thorsten Kuhlmann (Milan Peschel). His girlfriend Kati is too cowardly to talk to him herself, so she's hired Happy End to do the dirty work for her. She sends Paul with a message: "Thorsten, I don't want you any more. Please leave my apartment immediately, before I get home tonight". Ouch! Thorsten never expected it. He has nowhere to go at such short notice. He begs Paul to let him stay at his house. That's not part of the separation deal, but Paul has recently lost his drivers license for drunk driving, so he hires Thorsten as his driver.

That's the story's premise. The two men are thrust together by circumstances, so they have to live and work together. Normally I don't approve of remakes, but this is an exception. I'm sure that a Hollywood version with Jim Carrey, Will Smith or any other comedian would work well. They'd make me laugh. Matthias Schweighöfer and Milan Peschel don't.