"Ein vorbildliches Ehepaar" is a German television film from 2012, late 2012, so slightly under two years until this one will have its 10th anniversary now. It runs for the usual 1.5 hours, minimally under, like most other small screen releases from my country. This is story-wise based on a French film from 2001 that probably even fewer people have seen than this one here. This also explains the inclusion of the two French writers in the credits here. The "real" writers are Jaspersen and Püschel and a look at the bodies of work from these two makes me almost sick. Physically. Absolutely terrible what these two have come up with since the end of the last millennium and I am not just talking about the abysmal "Anna und die Liebe", but also everything else pretty much. I refuse to name it, go check out their bodies of work if you care. Or better don't. Accept this suggestion from somebody who did. Kinda shocking they are still getting hired, but I am not shocked at all that it is for stuff like "In aller Freundschaft". So a bit surprising that the two writers are females here because the film is at its very core about two male characters. The director is male though. Ben Verbong turned 70 already not too long ago and he is from the Netherlands and this is also where he started his career, but quickly switched to German projects a long time ago. Also worked with lead actor Ochsenknecht in the old millennium already, so this film here is a bit of a reunion. There I mentioned one of the two lead actors already. Ochsenknecht is the one on the right on the photo here on imdb. The other, the one with the dog, is Heino Ferch. Both are very famous here in Germany. Ochsenknecht is probably the one with the better body of work, especially if we are looking at his earlier years. And while I do think that he is a bit overrated, he is nowhere near as bad as his sons, who honestly have no business being cast for movies because they simply have no talent, just a big name. As for Ferch, I never really liked him. He has a tendency to always play the same character in every film honestly, but this made it somewhat interesting to see him here because for once he is more of a shy guy and not the ruthless alpha male. I wish he would take risks more frequently really when it comes to his role selection. The female character, the three that have a major impact, are not even close to being as known as the guys. von Kessel I have come across in other projects and I don't really like her, but Kuhl, even if she has been in some (pretty famous) films that I have seen, and Abraham, who plays the mother and seems retired now, I am not familiar with at all. A bit fitting that these two also have no profile pictures.
Now, let's dive into the story. I think the weaknesses are more frequent than the good aspects, so two out of five is still a bit more on the generous side. I would even say far more frequent. It's not just the key plot that makes not much sense with the two men thinking that if they start seeing and manipulating each other's partners, then this will convince the women to return to them. It is also the small moments. Like how they kiss the other's ex the exact same night really. But also how Ochsenknecht's character, who cheated many times, apparently found his real love or something. As for the key plots, honestly the entire idea that one character's mother thinks her son is gay now is so absurd. I mean not that she thinks it from what she sees, but all the small things that lead her to thinking so. Really for the sake of it and not authentic at all. Equally bad how his ex gets the same idea from said mother and how the ex and Ferch's character are talking outside and both mean something different. Not too funny, but rather cringeworthy. I hope they handled this better in the French original. Also why does von Kessel's character still treat his ex's mother? I mean that could be explained with the long time they knew each other, but they can't even seem to stand each other. As for the good moments, I have to dig a bit deeper. I think you will find some truths about women in this movie, especially from Ochsenknecht's character, so I am not even sure if they wnat us to see those words a the truth because he is not treated too nicely from the two female screen writers. And there is this scene when one character says that women are almost always going for the challenge in men, even if it means that they get treated badly. This is not untrue at all. So there is some depth and truth in here on some occasions, but not just on too many and honestly with the two screenwriters we have here and what they have worked on in the past, I kinda doubt they came up with any of the quality here, but just took it from the original film. Then again, we can still be glad perhaps that they did not remove it to turn this film into an even bigger mess. As weak as the outcome here may be all in all, it is still one of the best works from Jaspersen and Püschel I assume. Cool names though. The former sound almost like one of these many talented Danish filmmakers these days and the latter rocks anyway. Definitely better than Verbong, although Wiebke and Aglef make up for it on the other end of the scale. Okay, what else can I say here. The title translated means something like "An examplary married couple" and the French title just said couple, so they changed it a bit into something that does not even make sense. So even if they wanted to get in the allegedly romantic connection between the two men here, then they are still not married or anything. Stupid title. And if it is realistic that von Kessel's character really believes that her ex is all of a sudden into men is also a valid question to be asked. Or if it is gigantic nonsense. I go for the latter. The more I am thinking about this movie, the weaker it gets. I am pretty close now to taking away another two stars now, but let's be generous. Just don't expect depth or authenticity in this film and take it for the (not too often) pointless fun. One thing that alsol bothers me here is that, like many, many other German television films, the anti-male component is impossible to overlook. Ferch's character must still want his wife back although she cheated on him. Not once, but even had an affair. I mean it is the man's fault that he did not show her anymore he loves and desires her right? On the other hand, we have Ochsenknecht's character who cheated on his wife several times. And the only reason he is not treated like personified evil in this film, although he sometimes is, is that it is Ochsenknecht and he is liked by many. But there is no way his wife would ever take him back. I mean the only difference between the two cheaters is how often they did it. Or maybe not even that. Just how many times they did it. And the needy ones are still always the men. And what has to happen for Ferch's character's wife to take him back? (Yes, she is the one who decides, although she did the cheating.) Ferch's character must sleep with another woman. Let's not even get started on the face expressions there. Cringe is real. That was Schweighöfer level. And he must also punch the alpha male played by Ochsenknecht in the face with bloody consequences. Charming. I actually felt a bit bad for the latter on some occasions. Ochsenknecht should not accept roles like this. Overall, I think this is just a weak and not a terrible movie, but honestly, it gets pretty close to the latter too at times and if I ever watch it again, but I doubt it, then maybe I will not be as generous with my rating as I was now. In any case, I give it a thumbs-down overall. Not recommended. It's just too absurd on many occasions. Also that none of the two men get and stay together with their new acquaitances despite kissing them. Little makes sense here. Which would be more acceptable if the film was actually funny. But it is not. Skip it.
Now, let's dive into the story. I think the weaknesses are more frequent than the good aspects, so two out of five is still a bit more on the generous side. I would even say far more frequent. It's not just the key plot that makes not much sense with the two men thinking that if they start seeing and manipulating each other's partners, then this will convince the women to return to them. It is also the small moments. Like how they kiss the other's ex the exact same night really. But also how Ochsenknecht's character, who cheated many times, apparently found his real love or something. As for the key plots, honestly the entire idea that one character's mother thinks her son is gay now is so absurd. I mean not that she thinks it from what she sees, but all the small things that lead her to thinking so. Really for the sake of it and not authentic at all. Equally bad how his ex gets the same idea from said mother and how the ex and Ferch's character are talking outside and both mean something different. Not too funny, but rather cringeworthy. I hope they handled this better in the French original. Also why does von Kessel's character still treat his ex's mother? I mean that could be explained with the long time they knew each other, but they can't even seem to stand each other. As for the good moments, I have to dig a bit deeper. I think you will find some truths about women in this movie, especially from Ochsenknecht's character, so I am not even sure if they wnat us to see those words a the truth because he is not treated too nicely from the two female screen writers. And there is this scene when one character says that women are almost always going for the challenge in men, even if it means that they get treated badly. This is not untrue at all. So there is some depth and truth in here on some occasions, but not just on too many and honestly with the two screenwriters we have here and what they have worked on in the past, I kinda doubt they came up with any of the quality here, but just took it from the original film. Then again, we can still be glad perhaps that they did not remove it to turn this film into an even bigger mess. As weak as the outcome here may be all in all, it is still one of the best works from Jaspersen and Püschel I assume. Cool names though. The former sound almost like one of these many talented Danish filmmakers these days and the latter rocks anyway. Definitely better than Verbong, although Wiebke and Aglef make up for it on the other end of the scale. Okay, what else can I say here. The title translated means something like "An examplary married couple" and the French title just said couple, so they changed it a bit into something that does not even make sense. So even if they wanted to get in the allegedly romantic connection between the two men here, then they are still not married or anything. Stupid title. And if it is realistic that von Kessel's character really believes that her ex is all of a sudden into men is also a valid question to be asked. Or if it is gigantic nonsense. I go for the latter. The more I am thinking about this movie, the weaker it gets. I am pretty close now to taking away another two stars now, but let's be generous. Just don't expect depth or authenticity in this film and take it for the (not too often) pointless fun. One thing that alsol bothers me here is that, like many, many other German television films, the anti-male component is impossible to overlook. Ferch's character must still want his wife back although she cheated on him. Not once, but even had an affair. I mean it is the man's fault that he did not show her anymore he loves and desires her right? On the other hand, we have Ochsenknecht's character who cheated on his wife several times. And the only reason he is not treated like personified evil in this film, although he sometimes is, is that it is Ochsenknecht and he is liked by many. But there is no way his wife would ever take him back. I mean the only difference between the two cheaters is how often they did it. Or maybe not even that. Just how many times they did it. And the needy ones are still always the men. And what has to happen for Ferch's character's wife to take him back? (Yes, she is the one who decides, although she did the cheating.) Ferch's character must sleep with another woman. Let's not even get started on the face expressions there. Cringe is real. That was Schweighöfer level. And he must also punch the alpha male played by Ochsenknecht in the face with bloody consequences. Charming. I actually felt a bit bad for the latter on some occasions. Ochsenknecht should not accept roles like this. Overall, I think this is just a weak and not a terrible movie, but honestly, it gets pretty close to the latter too at times and if I ever watch it again, but I doubt it, then maybe I will not be as generous with my rating as I was now. In any case, I give it a thumbs-down overall. Not recommended. It's just too absurd on many occasions. Also that none of the two men get and stay together with their new acquaitances despite kissing them. Little makes sense here. Which would be more acceptable if the film was actually funny. But it is not. Skip it.
