"Liebe ist die beste Medizin", which means "Love is the best medicine", is a German television film from 2004, so this one had its 15th anniversary last year and it is truly a travesty that this piece is still shown occasionally on national television, of course by our friendly GEZ station(s). But I shall get to the details and why it is so bad later on. For now , let's stick with the facts: It runs for 1.5 hours almost and the director is Hannu Salonen from Finland, but he has worked for two decades on German projects, so this is still from relatively early in his career. The screenplay is by Mathias Klaschka. Like Salonen, he is also still active today and nowhere near retirement when they joined forces for this one here. Frequently with the people in charge of films of Regina Ziegler productions like this one here, you take a look at their bodies of work and realize they will never achieve something of quality. However, here it is a bit different. Both men I just mentioned apparently managed to step up their games quality-wise over the years and that is nice to watch. Maybe this film here was just some "childhood sin" or so. By the way, another title option here was "Zwischen Himmel und Erde", which means "Between Heaven and Earth" and while that one is no revelation either, it is still a better choice than the cringeworthy, clumsy, cheesy title they went with instead. The one they picked has no connection to the film, except the protagonist is a doctor. The working title at least has a specific connection to his father's fate. But it is not too important anyway. Good title or not, the movie still would have been trash. With the cast, I cannot really be too gentle. Raacke is the lead actor and he is tolerable, but only because almost everybody else is bad. This especially includes Sandra Speichert. Hholy moly, her line delivery during that scene in the rain is really on a level that I have not come across in a long time. And I have seen a lot. Like literally, she was so bad, they should have hired a voice actress for her line. So fake and unauthentic really. I guess they realized too and that is why she does not have a lot of dialogue in this movie althhough she is basically the female central character. I think i have seen Speichert in other stuff and I knew she was not good, but I definitely did not expect her to be this bad. As for the older actors, you will see a trio of very familiar faces. There is no way you have not come across Charles Brauer and Monica Bleibtreu and Rüdiger Vogler in other projects unless you are really new to German television and film. Well, what can I say about them. One must not speak bad about the dead, but Bliebtreu I always found a bit overrated. Brauer I am not very familiar with and Vogler him I have seen on so many of these really bad television releases here in my country, mostly Degeto, that I still find it a bit sad and shocking this is what he had to stoop down to after being Wenders' lead for many years. Then again, he made the choices to appear in these films, so I cannot really go easy on him either. But none of the trio really has the material to make an impact here and even if they did, I am not sure they had the range and talent to do so. By the way kind ironic how Bleibtreu died approximately five years after this film and Brauer, whose character is always on the verge of life and death here, is still alive deep into his 80s now in 2020.
Okay, I shall also talk about some scenes and moments that turned this movie into the abomination that it became. Already mentioned the scene in the rain with Speichert's dialogue and I think that one resulted in a kiss. But everything about her character was so bad. The other kissing scene was also way worse though. I mean they are having this huge argument, she is screaming at him that he cares for nobody and boom absolutely out of nowhere they lock lips. I really laughed a lot at that, also of course with the very lloud music that as played this exact moment. Yep, they were actually serious there. And don't even get me started about Speichert's character moments of brief unconsciousness and how poorly she acts those and on how the protagonist examines her health on one occasion with the two old fells watching from far away. Cringe is real. Also, another sexist movie we have here. Speichert's character is not single and if it was a male character he would be scum etc. in this kind of films for being attracted and starting something with another woman, but if it is the other way around, the woman is the "guilty" one, it is all fair and square because it is true love. Shows you which gender they do not want to disgruntle here, simply because the target group for this film are much more women than men. Then there is the entire idea with the protagonist's father posing as dead for his son to come and visit him. And as if it was nothing, the son does not only come, but also stays there and starts working as a doctor. Yeah right, like an existential professional decision just rushed in for the sake of the most unrealistic story-telling imaginable. Honestly, I am really surprised that apparently the writer in charge of this joke has turned into a decent talent now. But back to this movie. The most embarrassing moment is probably the church confession when daddy rushes into the confessional box and hears what his son has to say. Of course (how convenient!), he speaks about his father on that occasion too and how he cannot mourn. The final scene when the old man has a heart attack or something is also pretty embarrassing too, more pseudo drama there and of course the two meet again on this cringeworthy occasion and the son not only realizes that daddy is alive, but immmediately has to save the man's life even. Which he does. Obviously. It must be a happy ending. The two lovebirds are not enough. By the way, her previous partner also gets his one big stupid moment when of course he asks the man his woman is falling for to help him with making sure she really loves him and wants to marry him. Very realistic too, especially because the two men hardly had any connection before that, so makes sense the main character is about to leave immediately, but what a difference a lot of money makes no. Still I am sure in real life he would not have done it, he basically does not agree either, the other guy just runs away haha what a mess all this was. All for the sake of it sacrificing authenticity completely. A movie you want to keep your distance from at any cost. Fat thumbs-down and I highly recommend to skip the watch this time.
Okay, I shall also talk about some scenes and moments that turned this movie into the abomination that it became. Already mentioned the scene in the rain with Speichert's dialogue and I think that one resulted in a kiss. But everything about her character was so bad. The other kissing scene was also way worse though. I mean they are having this huge argument, she is screaming at him that he cares for nobody and boom absolutely out of nowhere they lock lips. I really laughed a lot at that, also of course with the very lloud music that as played this exact moment. Yep, they were actually serious there. And don't even get me started about Speichert's character moments of brief unconsciousness and how poorly she acts those and on how the protagonist examines her health on one occasion with the two old fells watching from far away. Cringe is real. Also, another sexist movie we have here. Speichert's character is not single and if it was a male character he would be scum etc. in this kind of films for being attracted and starting something with another woman, but if it is the other way around, the woman is the "guilty" one, it is all fair and square because it is true love. Shows you which gender they do not want to disgruntle here, simply because the target group for this film are much more women than men. Then there is the entire idea with the protagonist's father posing as dead for his son to come and visit him. And as if it was nothing, the son does not only come, but also stays there and starts working as a doctor. Yeah right, like an existential professional decision just rushed in for the sake of the most unrealistic story-telling imaginable. Honestly, I am really surprised that apparently the writer in charge of this joke has turned into a decent talent now. But back to this movie. The most embarrassing moment is probably the church confession when daddy rushes into the confessional box and hears what his son has to say. Of course (how convenient!), he speaks about his father on that occasion too and how he cannot mourn. The final scene when the old man has a heart attack or something is also pretty embarrassing too, more pseudo drama there and of course the two meet again on this cringeworthy occasion and the son not only realizes that daddy is alive, but immmediately has to save the man's life even. Which he does. Obviously. It must be a happy ending. The two lovebirds are not enough. By the way, her previous partner also gets his one big stupid moment when of course he asks the man his woman is falling for to help him with making sure she really loves him and wants to marry him. Very realistic too, especially because the two men hardly had any connection before that, so makes sense the main character is about to leave immediately, but what a difference a lot of money makes no. Still I am sure in real life he would not have done it, he basically does not agree either, the other guy just runs away haha what a mess all this was. All for the sake of it sacrificing authenticity completely. A movie you want to keep your distance from at any cost. Fat thumbs-down and I highly recommend to skip the watch this time.
