What a Man - Blu-Ray

Film: What his colleagues Til Schweiger or Michael Bully Herbig can do, that he can do for a long time. Matthias Schweighöfer must have thought so when he decided to take on the difficult double role of director and leading actor in a feature film. The result is called What a Man and is a romantic comedy with which Schweighöfer should definitely satisfy his female fans in particular.

The young teacher Alex (Matthias Schweighöfer) is astonished when his girlfriend Carolin (Mavie Hörbiger) cheats on him with the nasty macho neighbor Jens (Thomas Kretschmann) and then throws him out of their shared apartment. Was he not enough of a man for Carolin? And what does it actually mean to be a real man? His best friend Okke (Elyas M'Barek) doesn't really seem to know the answer to this question either, because his first attempts to pick up a girl with Okke's supposedly surefire pick-up tips go very wrong. And even Okke's sister and Alex's childhood friend Nele (Sibel Kekilli) can't really give the abandoned boy any helpful relationship tips. And so Alex sets out to become a real man himself. In the process, however, he runs the risk of overlooking the fact that the solution to all his questions is very close at hand.

For his directorial debut, Matthias Schweighöfer has chosen Frankfurt as his filming location. And even if he took some geographical liberties here and there, which, however, should only be noticed by Frankfurtians, he still managed to stage the Main metropolis in an extremely attractive way. Frankfurt hasn't looked as good as it does in What a Man in cinema or television for a long time, and it's clear that Schweighöfer has recognised the potential that Frankfurt definitely has to offer as a film subject and used it magnificently.

But it's not just visually that there's plenty to praise about the comedy. It is What a Man clearly noticeable that Schweighöfer has copied especially from his colleague Til Schweiger, with whom he has filmed Keinohrhasen and Zweiohrküken, so some. In terms of humour, editing, set design and camera work, there are some clear parallels to be seen here. However, Schweighöfer avoids a mistake that was particularly noticeable in Zweiohrküken: he knows exactly when a scene is over and doesn't hold the camera on it for an extremely long time to make it clear to the last viewer that he has just seen something funny. In addition, the soundtrack is also not so penetratingly superficially mixed, as in Schweiger's last films, in which the impression has been created again and again, one would see here just an overlong video clip.

What also stands out positively is a very endearing naivety with which the story is told. This is especially noticeable in Alex's relationship with Nele and Okke. Especially in one scene the film could have turned into something like My big fat turkish wedding very quickly. But except for two small moments the nationality of Nele and Okke doesn't play any role at all. Maybe this doesn't always correspond to reality. But it should be like that. Just as Alex's students and the goings-on in the schoolyard are portrayed. Real conflicts, as they can unfortunately be observed in everyday life again and again, do not exist here. Everything here is nice, clean and cheerful. Perhaps that's the way it really looks in very few schoolyards in Germany. But Schweighöfer's aim was not to stage a socially critical drama, but a romantic fairy tale. And there this embellished, refreshingly positive picture of interpersonal togetherness just fits in very well.

Sure, here and there Schweighöfer's inexperience as a director is still noticeable. The humor doesn't always hit the mark and some scenes just overshoot. But even in the weaker moments there is an obvious joy in the project, which can be seen in the actors as well as in the production as a whole. Whether it's the absolutely likeable Sibel Kekilli, the delightfully bitchy Mavie Hörbiger, the lovable Elyas M'Barek or the wonderfully smarmy Thomas Kretschmann, they all acted with obvious pleasure alongside and under the direction of Matthias Schweighöfer.

May be that all this is not evaluated positively by all critics. However, Matthias Schweighöfer can count on the support of his fans, which was also noticeable at the Frankfurt premiere. Here, Schweighöfer and his co-stars were greeted with loud cheers and the film was received with enormous applause. What a Man may not be entirely great cinema, nor is it the best comedy of the year. But it is without question good and likeable entertainment, which should more than satisfy not the feuilleton, but the target audience. And for that, it gets a well-deserved: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the Blu-Ray is on a very good level. The very clean picture pleases with a very warm color scheme, through which especially the beautiful shots of Frankfurt look like great cinema. Sharpness and contrast matching are also convincing and ensure that the visual realization provides no real reason for complaint. The same goes for the audio, which, unsurprisingly for a romantic comedy, is primarily dominated by the dialogue and score. However, the coherent ambient sounds and some minor surround effects also provide some movement to the tonal proceedings every now and then. Good.

Extras: The bonus material of the Blu-Ray is a little disappointing. Since Schweighöfer is already shooting in Frankfurt and then also hosts a premiere there, and then there is about it no extra on the disc, but only a brief look at the Berlin premiere. In addition, there is a good-humored audio commentary by the director/lead actor with his producer Dan Maag, in which the viewer is made aware of some small hidden details or is revealed which ideas from the film are based on real experiences. It continues with a 14 minute making of, a music video by Marlon Roudette and 7 minutes of outtakes. The trailer closes the clear bonus offer then already again. There would have been certainly more in it.

Conclusion: What a Man is a likeable comedy, with which Matthias Schweighöfer delivers a decent debut as a director. No great cinematic art, but nice romantic entertainment is all the same. The Blu-Ray is technically on a very good level, the bonus material is okay, but a bit meager. For fans of young German comedies definitely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp