Having discovered character actor Armin Mueller-Stahl in the terrific slice of life drama "Avalon" years ago, finding other movies of his in my movie viewing has been unexciting discovery, but unfortunately, this German set crime drama is nothing but softcore adult that is often funny to watch simply to discover how horrible the dialogue is. He is an aging detective with a guilt complex, having accidentally shot a young girl while on duty, and now involved in homicide investigations in the red light district, encountering prostitute Morgan Fairchild while dealing with his trashy new assistant (someone not even worth mentioning by name due to a ridiculous hammy unbelievable performance) and his various encounters with some odd characters, including an Asian contact he tosses racist wisecracks at (one referencing "The King and I"), as well as the soft spoken Michael York.
References to opera and other cultural phenomenon ring false, and it's eye rolling to see Stahl trying to get busy with Fairchild in a nightclub bathroom after some hoods who spot him and seemingly intend to assault him. His visits to some other odd night spots reveal more shallowness, and one Club indicating very bizarre alternate lifestyles includes the presence of a goat. I could find absolutely nothing memorable about any of this, and only give it a rank above bomb because I actually laughed at most of the dialogue, so if you watch this with an unintentional comical eye, you may do the same. Why actors like Stahl, Fairhild and York ended up in this with their characters being completely undeveloped and mainly tasteless is unexplainable, and while I generally like Fairchild, I felt truly embarrassed for her.
References to opera and other cultural phenomenon ring false, and it's eye rolling to see Stahl trying to get busy with Fairchild in a nightclub bathroom after some hoods who spot him and seemingly intend to assault him. His visits to some other odd night spots reveal more shallowness, and one Club indicating very bizarre alternate lifestyles includes the presence of a goat. I could find absolutely nothing memorable about any of this, and only give it a rank above bomb because I actually laughed at most of the dialogue, so if you watch this with an unintentional comical eye, you may do the same. Why actors like Stahl, Fairhild and York ended up in this with their characters being completely undeveloped and mainly tasteless is unexplainable, and while I generally like Fairchild, I felt truly embarrassed for her.