"Eine zweimalige Frau" is a German television film from 2004, so this one is already over 15 years old now, maybe over 20 depending on when you read this review, and it runs for 1.5 hours as they usually do. As you can see by the rating and number of votes, this is not really a movie that managed to score great success with audiences and has been mostly forgotten today. Still, it is still on national television here and there. Today was such an occasion. That's what ARD does with your GEZ money, folks. But back to the film itself: The director is Karen Müller. She launched her career with "Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten", the long-running daily soap opera from my country that is honestly really bad and she was pretty prolific as a director in the first decade of the new millennium. Since then, she has kinda vanished apparently. Which is probably not a bad thing if we look at GZSZ, Rosamunde Pilcher films and this one we have here. Writer Wolfgang Stauch is still more present, has been far more prolific in the last 15 years than before this film, which was not from his very early years as a writer, but still nothing if we compare it to all her did since 2005. Not a great deal of quality there either, but as he apparently worked on quite a few occasions with the really likable Evelyn Hamann, I cannot be too mad at him. Or too harsh on his body of work. He's in his early 50s now, last project from 2018, and actually has his birthday next week, so clearly he is still active in the industry. But even without the Hamann bonus, his body of work would be way better than those of the writers they usually hire for these films we have here. With "these films" I mean for exampls films starring Christine Neubauer, who is really one of the worst actresses ever in existence and I am not talking about German actresses only. It may sound harsh, may sound exaggerated, but it is really true and I would not even blame her really. I mean she got lead roles for decades really despite complete absence of talent and versatility and range. Of course she would take the check. The ones really to blame are those who keep casting her for their movies and also those who watch her movies and think she is a talented actress. There is no excuse for that. Not too much to say about the supporting cast as always with Neubauer's films. Even I as a German film buff struggle hard to find familiar names and faces there. Fitz, Troegner and Schweighöfer senior are in it too. They may be the only ones. By the way, speaking of him, I think that Schweighöfer junior, while being among Germany's most successful actors for a long time now, is extremely free of range and talent as well and his movies are uninspired and unfunny nonsense. May sound harsh again, but it is true. So no surprise either that his daddy appears in a trashy film like this. I think his mother has a similar career. On a more general note, it can be said that this film we have here has a title that is pretty uncommon. It was meant to sound deep and meaningful I suppose, but it's all make-believe. We also do not really say "zweimalig" in German. It basically only means a woman who exists twice.
Now there we already have the key problem from this film. The story is absolute nonsense. One lead is an aspiring lawyer and she is about to have a career in politics. But exactly right now, there is another woman who is followed by the yellow press apparently and she looks exactly alike. Like twins really. And they are twins indeed. However, what in reality would be the first thing to check if they are blood-related takes until almost the very end for a "huge" revelation that they are twins indeed. Also what a coincidence that they are basically at the exact same event where one of them goes nuts. Then the two meet only a little later and from that moment on keep talking to each other that scandals shall be avoided etc. The film already falls with the decision to have Neubaier play both characters. I made myself very clear earlier already, but let me make sure to say again, even if I repeat myself, that she is an actress who is not even able to make one character work, so what do you do? Give her two most different characters. She plays the same character in every film really, she barely shows three different face expressions in 90 minutes and it has been like this for over 20 years now. Good news is her glory days (probably because of her age) seem over now as she is around 60, but this movie here is a prime example of how she is not a talented actress. As always, her character is supposed to be very likable. Here she gets her friend some vitamins very early on, takes good care of her son, even if money is scarce and is just kind and friendly towards people who treat her well. But as she can pull off the simple girl, she can also pull off the successful business woman. What a chameleon this actress. And, also as always, men are constantly over her and her curvy body, usually considerably younger man. This film is really the epitome of a Neubauer film. The same as always story-wise, complete absence of acting talent, but utter make-believe that she is a likable, gorgeous and successful woman, so people keep saying they want to see more (movies) from her. Well, let me get in some balance by saying I would not want to see a single one. Or actually that I would have preferred her to never be in a single movie at all. The most embarrassing thing with her movies is that are actually 100% serious with the story. The good thing is that this way sometimes they turn into unintentional comedy as it was here once or twice the case too, but that is really all the positive you can say. This film takes itself especially seriously during the revelation when we find out how the two twins were separated at birth (compare your birthdays perhaps??) and we also get an "emotional" GDR flight story with it. I won't even go into detail about that. Of course, the colleague knew all along. Yeah, right. And of course, he is the one true love for her. And of course, she has her big moment with the boy and the mean teacher in the end putting her in her place. So much cringe there really. But the one weakest moment that showed the absence of talent in writing and Neubauer's acting in the blink of an eye was when she was about to call police because her boy was missing. You know what I mean when you see it. But better is you won't. Of course, the boy reappears right behind her five seconds later. I don't even. Big thumbs-down for this mess of a movie. Highly not recommended.
Now there we already have the key problem from this film. The story is absolute nonsense. One lead is an aspiring lawyer and she is about to have a career in politics. But exactly right now, there is another woman who is followed by the yellow press apparently and she looks exactly alike. Like twins really. And they are twins indeed. However, what in reality would be the first thing to check if they are blood-related takes until almost the very end for a "huge" revelation that they are twins indeed. Also what a coincidence that they are basically at the exact same event where one of them goes nuts. Then the two meet only a little later and from that moment on keep talking to each other that scandals shall be avoided etc. The film already falls with the decision to have Neubaier play both characters. I made myself very clear earlier already, but let me make sure to say again, even if I repeat myself, that she is an actress who is not even able to make one character work, so what do you do? Give her two most different characters. She plays the same character in every film really, she barely shows three different face expressions in 90 minutes and it has been like this for over 20 years now. Good news is her glory days (probably because of her age) seem over now as she is around 60, but this movie here is a prime example of how she is not a talented actress. As always, her character is supposed to be very likable. Here she gets her friend some vitamins very early on, takes good care of her son, even if money is scarce and is just kind and friendly towards people who treat her well. But as she can pull off the simple girl, she can also pull off the successful business woman. What a chameleon this actress. And, also as always, men are constantly over her and her curvy body, usually considerably younger man. This film is really the epitome of a Neubauer film. The same as always story-wise, complete absence of acting talent, but utter make-believe that she is a likable, gorgeous and successful woman, so people keep saying they want to see more (movies) from her. Well, let me get in some balance by saying I would not want to see a single one. Or actually that I would have preferred her to never be in a single movie at all. The most embarrassing thing with her movies is that are actually 100% serious with the story. The good thing is that this way sometimes they turn into unintentional comedy as it was here once or twice the case too, but that is really all the positive you can say. This film takes itself especially seriously during the revelation when we find out how the two twins were separated at birth (compare your birthdays perhaps??) and we also get an "emotional" GDR flight story with it. I won't even go into detail about that. Of course, the colleague knew all along. Yeah, right. And of course, he is the one true love for her. And of course, she has her big moment with the boy and the mean teacher in the end putting her in her place. So much cringe there really. But the one weakest moment that showed the absence of talent in writing and Neubauer's acting in the blink of an eye was when she was about to call police because her boy was missing. You know what I mean when you see it. But better is you won't. Of course, the boy reappears right behind her five seconds later. I don't even. Big thumbs-down for this mess of a movie. Highly not recommended.
