Fair to cloudy

Many filmmakers have failed in their attempt to tread the fine line between comedy and tragedy in an inherently difficult and sad subject. Either the dramatic part of the story is diluted by too much or too flat comedy, or the comedy, which is coherent in itself, somehow seems out of place due to an over-dominance of drama. But although only a few directors actually manage to find the right balance, other ambitious filmmakers are not deterred from trying their hand at the tragicomedy genre. Such is the case with Marco Petry (School), who combines the dying of a cancer patient who is far too young with a romantic comedy that is rather ordinary in itself.

Heiter bis wolkig tells of the young chef Tim (Max Riemelt) who, together with his best friend Can (Elyas M'Barek), has developed a particularly audacious method of getting women into bed. One of the two approaches a potential bedmate and tells her that his best friend has only a few months to live and would only wish to sleep with a beautiful woman. Most of the time this plan actually works out, but then Tim picks Marie (Anna Fischer) of all people, whose sister Edda (Jessica Schwartz) is actually terminally ill. Too bad that Tim falls head over heels in love with Marie and now has to play the sick one in order not to hurt her. Edda, however, immediately realizes that Tim is just faking it. But rather than tell her sister his lie, the dying woman agrees to keep Tim's secret in exchange for his support in fulfilling some last wishes. But as his love for Marie and his friendship with Edda grows, the moment inevitably approaches when his lie will be exposed.

Happy to Cloudy has some aspects that work well to very well and others that unfortunately disappoint in comparison. Jessica Schwartz really plays her role very convincingly. The scenes between Edda and Tim are then also the most successful moments of the tragicomedy, whereby there are both very amusing, but also some touching moments. It is exactly these scenes that give more depth to the character of Tim, who otherwise comes across as somewhat one-dimensional, which is also due to Max Riemelt's good acting.

The problem with Max Riemelt and Jessica Schwartz harmonizing so well and playing so strongly together is that Anna Fischer just can't compete with them. Fischer has proven in films like Love Wall and Groupies Don't Stay for Breakfast that she is not only a very likable young actress, but also a thoroughly talented one. But here her acting seems strangely wooden and pale, which is why there just isn't any real chemistry between her and Max Riemlet. Because of that the romantic aspect of the story just doesn't manage to ignite properly. Compared to the storyline around Edda's friendship with Tim and her dealing with her imminent death, the romance between Tim and Marie just seems trivial.

Also Elyas M'Barek, who has become the secret draw of the film not least due to the success of the theatrical version of Türkisch für Anfänger, remains too clichéd a supporting character to really enrich the film. Ultimately, the actor is just playing another variation of the characters he played in Turkish for Beginners or What a Man. He does that again with the charm that makes him so popular especially with the female audience. But his character simply lacks that very special touch to make it more than just a nice sidekick for the leading man.

Hay to Cloudy is not a bad film, there are too many successful moments and good actor performances for that. But the existing potential is too often diluted by clichés and somehow colorless moments, so that in the end only a nice tragicomedy remains, which unfortunately only partially managed the difficult balancing act. And that is then in the end evenly only with strong restrictions still worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp