User Reviews

"Soloalbum" is a German 85-minute film from 2003, so this one will have its 15th anniversary next year. It was written by Jens-Frederik Otto and directed by Gregor Schnitzler, but don't worry if these names mean nothing to as even if they admittedly worked on several other projects well known here in Germany, only the very biggest German film buffs might recognize them. This film here is far more known because it was the breakthrough film on the big screen for lead actor Matthias Schweighöfer and Nora Tschirner, who is somewhere in the gray area between lead and supporting here. Both were in their early 20s at that point. The book this is based on is a novel by Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, who was kind of the next big thing back then.

Story-wise, the film focuses on a young man and how he deals with breaking up with his girlfriend. We see a couple rules/intentions written on the screen that are supposed to help him or make him feel better and then we see what happens when he tries to follow these guidelines, but it all goes wrong of course. And it goes wrong in a way that was supposed to be funny and entertaining, but I found it so horribly unfunny and try-hard that I almost had to look away. The fact that Schweighöfer was as untalented back then already as he still is today isn't helping either. Cringeworthy stuff here and the most embarrassing parts were probably the ones in bed with some female strangers and sex scenes are always a toughie admittedly, especially when included for comedic reasons, but when everybody is so void of talent as here, it's just a huge failure really.

I will admit that the film started okay. Nothing good or even great, but at least bearable, but in the second half things got way worse. It probably hit rock-bottom when there was that scene where Oliver Bierhoff and Britney Spears are mentioned. I won't go any more into detail about that one as I wanna forget it as fast as possible. Oh yeah and then there is the happy ending of course that feels as unrealistic, if not more, than the rest of it all. What do we learn from this? Schweighöfer sucked for 15 years now and still plays lead characters in really bad films where it feels virtually impossible to decide if the script or M.S. sucked more. The good thing is the film stays under the 90-minute mark comfortably. Another good thing is that Tschirner managed a decent career with some strong films and performances thanks to her success here. But as for the movie itself, it says it all that mediocre cameos by musicians like Thomas D. or No Angel Sandy managed to elevate the material. I have not read the novel by BvSB, so no idea if the problem lies there or in the adaptation, but let me tell you the problem is huge. It's a film that tries to be funny and realistic/relevant at the same time and like many other Schweighöfer films is manipulative enough to trick many (the simple-minded) into believing this is actually authentic story-telling. It's the exact opposite. One of 2003's worst. Don't watch.

After reading the decent book I decided to watch the movie and lived to rue it. The acting is as bad as in most German movies, only Schweighoefer does a half-decent job.

About the plot: A young bon vivant treats his girlfriend like crap, she breaks up with him (and is using the phrase "the killer in me is the killer in you" from the song "Disarm" by The Smashing Pumpkins, which makes absolutely no sense and was probably used just to make the movie look cool), he is devastated and tries to get her back. That's it.

There are so many things that were stolen from "High Fidelity", which is why the voting is so bad. Just making a copy of High Fidelity isn't going to do the trick, and since High Fidelity is way better, Soloalbum is not worth the watch.