This Is How Life Plays - DVD

Movie: Greg Berlanti, who has worked on such series as "Everwood", "Dawson`s Creek" and "Eli Stone", among others, is now trying his hand at a feature film once again after a few years off. He is on safe ground, because with a romantic comedy, in which Katherine Heigl also acts as a drawing card, nothing can go wrong. Right?

The content promises little new: As much as their best friends Alison (Christina Hendricks) and Peter (Hayes MacArthur) would have liked to see it, Holly (Katherine Heigl) and Messer (Josh Duhamel) just don't want to be paired up. The two are far too different to work as a couple. But when Alison and Peter are killed in a car accident and Holly and Messer, of all people, are awarded custody of their daughter, the two must put their differences aside, say goodbye to their previous lives, and come to terms with their involuntary roles as new parents. What starts out as a disaster actually seems to work out after a few months. But then feelings get in the way that don't fit into their life plan at all...

Let's be honest: if you're expecting real surprises after seeing the trailer or at the latest the movie poster, you have only yourself to blame. "So spielt das Leben" offers the viewer exactly what the advertisement promises: a nice comedy with attractive actors, stale "incompetent-adults-in-unwanted-parent-roles"-clichés that are still good for a few laughs here and there and plenty of romantic kitsch. Aside from the obligatory scenes in which the unwilling new parents have to realize that baby poop doesn't smell like violets and that they like to accurately spit out their food once in a while, Berlanti fortunately manages to throw in a few fresher, charming moments every now and then that are actually really funny.

What also makes the film work is that Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel ("Transformers") have great chemistry. While Heigl actually once again plays the exact role she already embodied in "The Naked Truth" or "Kiss & Kill", Duhamel is a refreshing counterpart as a notorious womanizer and attractive bon vivant who turns every woman's - and many a man's - head. The two engage in some amusing verbal exchanges that, while hinting from the first minute at where this is all going to end up, are still very entertaining to watch.

A collection of amusing supporting characters (especially Sarah Burns as an official from the Youth Welfare Office stands out positively here, especially in the last third) save with the other positive aspects "So life plays " in the end from mediocrity and guarantee lovers of romantic US comedies at least an enjoyable movie night. No more, but also no less!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the DVD does not really disappoint, but enthusiasm hardly sets itself. The picture is clean and pleasantly sharp, the colors are strong and well matched. In the darker scenes, the contrasts leave something to be desired, which is at the expense of the sharpness of detail. The audio is dominated by the soundtrack and dialogue, as is usual in this genre, with the latter sounding a little more front-heavy in the German version than in the original English. Overall, a well-deserved: good!

Extras: Apart from 14 minutes of unused scenes, which have no real highlights to offer, there is no bonus material on the DVD at all. Weak!

Conclusion: "So spielt das Leben" is a nice, but not really overwhelming romantic comedy, which thanks to some nice gags and the likeable main actors still comes beyond mediocrity. The DVD is technically on a good level, but has plenty of little bonus material to offer. Overall for genre fans quite recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp