The Wedding Video

With films like Kleine Haie, Allein unter Frauen or Der bewegte Mann, Sönke Wortmann became the specialist for German comedies par excellence, especially in the 90s. But after he had made a name for himself with the drama Das Wunder von Bern, the documentary Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen or the novel adaptation Die Päpstin, he now returns to his successful beginnings with Das Hochzeitsvideo.

Shot in the currently very popular found-footage style, with which, for example, the comedy Project X, the fantasy thriller Chronicle or the Paranormal Activity films have also successfully told their stories, the film follows the preparations for the big day of Sebastian (Marian Kindermann) and Pia (Lisa Bitter). Although Sebastian's wealthy parents are less than thrilled with their future daughter-in-law, everything looks set for a harmonious wedding celebration at a swanky castle hotel. As a very special gift, Sebastian's best friend Daniel (Martin Aselmann) documents the wedding preparations. What starts out as a rather ordinary video with the usual greetings and congratulations from friends and family soon becomes a document of rampant chaos, with hardly a disaster left out from lost wedding rings, well-stocked ex-boyfriends and heartless registrars...

That Wortmann cast his wedding video with lesser or completely unknown actors was a very good idea, as it gives the film a certain freshness that is of great benefit to the overall picture, especially in light of the often rather dusty gags. Especially Lucie Heinze as Pia's half-sister Despair and Martin Aselmann as best friend Daniel leave a positive and very likeable impression. But unfortunately, this only applies to the rest of the film to a very limited extent.

The biggest problem is that the story makes use of too many hackneyed wedding movie clichés. Apart from a few really good laughs, the really big gags are absent, as many of the funny moments are either utterly predictable or simply not funny. Whether it is the porn actor as a hidden ex-boyfriend, the naked stripper the morning after the bachelor party, the completely humorless, typical German civil servant or the bourgeois parents, who of course only want the best for their son, the on the other hand very loud bride's father, who attracts negative attention right at the beginning or the young brother-in-law, who gives in the best Checker manner so many verbal garbage from, here really no even the most shallow and worn cliché is left out.

And that's a real shame. Because when this movie works, it works really well. Time and time again it's obvious what comedic potential there is in the direction, the actors and the staging. Why this is repeatedly given away in favor of flat gags and uninspired plot elements is extremely unfortunate. It is to Wortmann's credit that on the one hand he has given young talents a chance and on the other hand he has gone new ways in order not to repeat himself. The fact that this commendable project only succeeded in a few scenes makes The Wedding Video a real disappointment. Sure, it's far from the worst German comedy in recent memory. But with a director like Sönke Wortmann you would have expected a completely different quality. And therefore: despite some really good laughs only very conditionally worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp