User Reviews

"Männer..." is built upon a promising, heavily ironic premise (yuppie husband loses pretty but bored housewife to free-spirited artist, befriends him and eventually gets his revenge by turning him into his own doppelganger), but never quite catches fire: the film has an understated sense of humor, with few big laughs. There is at least one particularly funny and touching sequence, though: when the wife shows up in the men's shared appartment, the husband wears a gorilla mask to avoid being recognized, and before she leaves he grabs the chance to hug her for the first time in a long while. **1/2 out of 4.

When an uptight, inhibited middle-class husband learns his wife is having an affair with a young bohemian artist he does what any obsessed cuckold might do, contriving to become his rival's roommate, without revealing his true identity. The two men clash like natural enemies, but gradually their mutual antagonism is transformed into grudging respect and later into friendship, with each benefiting from his exposure to the other until, finally, they all but trade characters, the husband becoming more spontaneous and the lover more responsible. Writer director Dorris Dorrie is remarkably impartial in her assessment of the opposite sex, presenting both roommates (and the woman between them) with generous sympathy despite their obvious shortcomings. Unfortunately the modest charm and offhand humor of her screenplay is pretty much destroyed by insensitive English overdubbing, and it requires a lot of effort to mentally translate the dialogue back into more effective subtitles.

"Männer..." is a West German movie from over 30 years ago. It runs for 95 minutes and was the breakthrough for writer and director Doris Dörrie and lead actor Heiner Lauterbach. His co-lead Uwe Ochsenknecht was already a bit more famous at this point thanks to "Das Boot". The film is basically about two men and their interaction with each other and with the women in their lives. Occasionally, their professional life (business, creativity) also becomes part of the story. But it is really all about masculinity or lack thereof and what women really prefer. Unfortunately, I cannot say I found this film as good as awards bodies everywhere around the world did. One problem is that Lauterbach and Ochsenknecht may have good charisma and recognition value, but they do not have great range or talent in terms of acting and this is as true today as it was back then as both actors are still pretty famous here in Germany.

Sadly, this movie is evidence that the 1980s really weren't the greatest decade in terms of film for Germany. It's a sad state of affairs when a film like this gets picked up to represent Germany at the Academy Awards. needless to say, it did not manage to get nominated. As for Dörrie, I have seen some of her other works and it shows that she wasn't even 30 when she made this. It is nowhere near her best in terms of story-telling or character evaluation. It is extremely showy and many fell for it, but it lacks (besides great acting) convincing subtlety and relatable characters. It is still better than Dörrie's most recent work "Grüße aus Fukushima", but this does not make "Men..." a satisfying watch. Not at all. I give it a thumbs down as this is a mix of bad and mediocre and nowhere near the filmmaker's best work, even if it is still, despite the age, among her most known. Not recommended.

When a rich businessman finds out that his wife is having an affair with an artist (with a really nasty mullet, and some lovely underwear), he decides to leave his wife, and moves in with..... his wife's lover. We see some weird behaviour between the 2 as the businessman takes a deep interest his art, and eventually lands him a job. (After turning the artist into the reason why his wife left him in the first place.) Funny weird and wonderful. A very good film.

A wealthy art director's bored wife no longer finds him as vital and exciting as when they first met and married. She informs him that she doesn't love him anymore, and has found someone new who fulfills her. Rather than screams and tantrums, or even a big fight, the husband (Julian) asks about the new lover (Stefan) and in which ways he differs from himself.

He then sets out to win his wife back by, intentionally or subconsciously, turning Stefan into himself and, hopefully, in the process showing his wife that the dullness she ascribes to his engagements with work over life are, in fact, the consequences of striving to support and keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed.

The majority of comment on this brilliant little film focuses on the nature of men, which is only natural given the title and the fact that it's directed by a woman. However, I believe that the film also advances a radical argument with respect to women: they inspire carefree romance in men, but also inspire the soul-eating corporate indenture that leaves men mere husks of themselves.

That women are regarded as possessions and prizes is made explicit in the final sequence of the film (which is both so absurd and such genius that it would be a crime for me to ruin it) in the way Stefan and Julius resolve the conflict between them. That women are the root of this competitiveness as well as the reason why men gradually lose their luster is also argued in the readiness with which Stefan takes to Julian's suggestions and in Paula's ultimate decision.

Not really groundbreaking stuff of itself, but a position almost never taken by comedies of the sexes, just another reason why this film is a true cinematic gem.