Da muss Mann durch - Blu-ray

Film: Paul Schuberth (Wotan Wilke Möhring) simply has no luck with love. While his best friend Schamski (Jan Josef Liefers) seems to get every woman into bed with just one look and even the shy Günther (Oliver Korritke) is now in a committed relationship, Paul just always falls in love with the wrong girl. When he meets Lena (Julia Jentsch), the daughter of the publishing house owners for whom Paul works, he is sure: this time it is the woman for life. The fact that she is engaged to the wealthy Patrick (Stephan Luca) doesn't bother Paul much. And in fact he succeeds in winning Lena's heart - which her mother (Daniela Ziegler) is not really thrilled about. On a vacation together in Mallorca, Paul gets the chance to prove to his future in-laws that he is a good match for their beloved daughter. But in the process, Paul naturally puts his foot in his mouth. When he finds out that Lena is pregnant and that Patrick, not he, is the father, he urgently needs the help of Schamski, Günther and Bronko (Fahri Yardim). But whether the chaos squad really makes it better is questionable...

With Mann tut was Mann kann, director Marc Rothemund (Sophie Scholl, Groupies bleiben nicht zum Frühstück) staged an entertaining and sparkling romantic comedy in 2012 that scored particularly well with its endearingly quirky supporting characters and charming happy ending. So it's no wonder that writer Hans Rath and director Rothemund, along with most of the cast, have been hired again for the sequel. But the shooting doesn't seem to have gone so smoothly, because Rothemund has withdrawn his name from the project, so that now the non-existent Thomas Lee is mentioned as director. In fact, it's also easy to see where the film falls short as a sequel. That's why you should try to evaluate the movie not only as a second part of a successful predecessor, but also as a romantic comedy in its own right. Because then the judgments turn out very differently.

As a sequel, Da muss Mann durch is a bitter disappointment. The happy ending of the predecessor no longer exists, Jasmin Gerat's character of the veterinarian Iris is not even mentioned again. Instead, Paul goes right back to hooking up with a woman who is about to marry another man. That doesn't seem particularly imaginative. But it's much worse that Paul's friends are downgraded to extras and that especially Jan Josef Liefers isn't allowed to say such biting lines anymore, with which he provided the best laughs in the first part. Here, he has to make do with raunchy cell phone photos and weak corny jokes. And the appearances of Oliver Korritke - the only character, by the way, whose story is consistently continued - and Fahri Yardim have already been forgotten while the credits roll. And then, finally, there's Wotan Wilke Möhring as Paul, who seems to have forgotten any development he went through in the first film.

But if you detach yourself from Mann tut was Mann kann and simply take Da muss Mann durch as a harmless romantic comedy with a bit of slapstick, the film works quite well in the end. The images of Mallorca are wonderful, the actors - especially Sophia Thomalla - are attractively staged and the story, predictable as it may be, is thoroughly entertaining for viewers who like this genre. And although the whole thing moves dangerously close to Rosamunde Pilcher level in many moments, there are always some gags that at least provide an amused smile.

No question, without such talented and confident acting actors like Jan Josef Liefers, Julia Jentsch, Wotan Wilke Möhring or even a really sympathetic Peter Prager Da muss Mann durch really would be no more than a trivial little film that can find its audience in the public evening program. The ensemble and the picturesque landscape shots, which just make you want to go on vacation, save quite a lot. But unfortunately it becomes clear again and again how much better and funnier this comedy could have been if it had retained more of the wit and esprit of its predecessor and had dramaturgically relied a little more on further development than on regression. And therefore there is here also only with deductions still a worth seeing!

Picture + sound: The wonderful landscape shots of Mallorca come also in the home cinema well to the validity. Colors are powerfully mixed and overall sharpness is at a very high level. Even in darker scenes, the many small details come across very well. The audio is in a pleasantly dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that not only allows the voices to ring out of the speakers with good clarity, but also provides some surround movement every now and then with well-executed sound effects like explosive fireworks and music. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is only a short promo clip in which Wotan Wilke Möhring leads the audience over the set (about 2:30 min.), as well as the trailer for the film.

Conclusion: Da muss Mann durch is as a sequel a bitter disappointment, but on its own an entertaining and nice romantic comedy with high show values and a few nice gags. If you don't know the predecessor and don't want to see more than entertaining entertainment without much depth, you can risk a look just because of the charming ensemble. However, if you hope that the level of Part 1 is maintained or already could not laugh at the first film, you should rather leave the fingers of this sequel. The Blu-ray is technically absolutely convincing, the bonus offer, however, turns out extremely sparse. Overall, there is for the overall package only with deductions still a hesitant: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp