Kokowääh 2 - DVD

Movie: The lives of screenwriter Henry (Til Schweiger), his ten-year-old daughter Magdalena (Emma Schweiger), his girlfriend Katharina (Jasmin Gerat) and their shared baby Louis had just returned to a little normal when chaos strikes the small patchwork family again. Not only do the tensions between Henry and Katharina increase day by day to such an extent that she moves out of their shared apartment so that she can finally write her new book in peace. Now, of all times, Magdalena's cuckoo father Tristan (Samuel Finzi) calls the couple with bad news: he has lost all his savings and now has to move in with Henry. It's clear that the two men will clash again and again due to their completely different methods of upbringing. The fact that Magdalena falls in love for the first time in the midst of this family chaos doesn't make things any easier for her fathers...

As with Keinohrhase and Zweiohrküken, Til Schweiger has again chosen the exact same poster motif for the two parts of Kokowääh. Only the 2 behind the title reveals that these are different films. This may be dismissed as rather brazen unimaginativeness, but it can also be declared as refreshing honesty. Because in this way Schweiger makes it clear to his viewers right from the start what they are being offered here: more of what they saw in Part 1 - and thus exactly what they want to see. Neither stylistically nor dramaturgically does the sequel to the 2011 box office success break new ground. The visuals dominated by sepia tones, the soundtrack that often overlays the action a bit penetratingly, against which the protagonists then have to downright scream, and the not exactly subtle acting of the actors, especially in the humorous scenes, in which too exaggerated facial expressions and gestures are repeatedly relied on, all these are now actually trademarks of a typical Til Schweiger comedy. And of course, all of that can be found in Kokowääh 2.

In part, of course, these trademarks are things that can be easily criticized. For instance, when Schweiger resorts to the much-loved Das Baby pees all over Daddy while changing his diaper gag, and Samuel Finzi comments on it with almost hysterical laughter, critics are quick to dismiss it as pure and unimaginative slapstick. The same goes for scenes in which Schweiger captures the reactions of the protagonists or extras involved after certain gags until even the last person realizes that this is a laughing matter. But on the other hand, Schweiger can't be denied that he's very good at giving his audience what they want to see.

And after all, he seems to hit the mark with an audience of millions. His fans love the stories he tells and the way he directs his films. You can criticize that as much as you want - as long as the audience likes it and they flock to the cinemas in droves, Til Schweiger will hardly care about the negative voices and continue on his usual and very successful path. The only thing that is really a pity is that he gives away a lot of potential - his own and that of his mostly really good co-stars. Because as a director Til Schweiger has real talent when it comes to beautiful pictures of international format. A little more dramaturgical depth and a little less fecal humor would clearly enhance his films. And if he would allow his actors to tone down the facial expressions a bit and approach the whole thing a bit more sensitively, many of the critics would certainly fall silent very quickly (like with the really nice Keinohrhasen).

So, in conclusion, it can be said about Kokowääh 2 that it is first and foremost a film for fans. Viewers who don't like Til Schweiger and his movies will feel confirmed in all their prejudices. Those who love him, however, will once again be thoroughly entertained by this comedy. A wonderfully over-excited and self-deprecating Matthias Schweighöfer and a few successful moments between Henry and Tristan are a consolation for the fact that the sequel is a little less charming than its predecessor and more often makes use of rather flat gags than fully exploiting the emotional potential of the story. Therefore, there is also only a very clearly directed at Til Schweiger fans: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The meanwhile typically alienated, very warm color scheme for Til Schweiger's films comes on the DVD well to advantage. The picture is also very clean and the overall sharpness is at a good to very good level. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is also convincing. The fact that the music is sometimes mixed a little loud, is also one of the gladly used stylistic devices of Til Schweiger and should therefore not be evaluated as negative (at least not in technical terms).

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has only a short outtake of Emma & Til (about 1:05 min.), two music videos by The Script (approx. 3:22 min.) and the Disco Ensemble (approx. 3:39 min.), as well as two trailers and an amusing joke video (approx. 6:23 min.). If you want to see more extras, you'll have to reach for the Blu-ray, which also has a Making of, Behind the Scenes featurettes and a team film on board. All in all, the Blu-ray disc has about 45 minutes more bonus material to offer than the DVD.

Conclusion: With Kokowääh 2 Til Schweiger will certainly not win any new fans. To most of his many loyal fans, on the other hand, he once again offers exactly what they want to see. This is sometimes cute, nice and amusing, then again the whole thing goes too much in the direction of Klamauk and uses too stale zoten. Even if the charm of part 1 is not quite reached, such viewers who like the actor/director Til Schweiger and his comedies will get their money's worth. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp