User Reviews

"Sommerfest" is a relatively new German movie that was released back in 2017 and runs for slightly under 90 minutes. The writer and director is Sönke Wortmann and here we have another work from him that shows his best days may be a thing of the past. The novel this is based on is by Frank Goosen and he is also known for providing the material for "Liegen lernen", an older and more known German movie. But back to this one here. We have a mix of comedy, drama with an ounce of romance, but I felt none of these genres received a fresh and entertaining elaboration. It all feels like quantity over quality. Besides Gregorowicz simply isn't lead actor material in my opinion and I am not surprised his screen time gets less the longer the film goes. Bederke is pretty stunning, but only minimally better. Jasna Fritzi Bauer is an actress I usually like, but she is held back by the script too and her singing number may honestly be the weakest moment of the entire film. In terms of the comedy, the film on 2 or 3 occasions hits the cringeworthy Schweighöfer territory too, something you really don't want to see these days anymore and comedy is at such a bad state in Germany these days compared to mot other European countries (especially France) that it is simply unbearable to watch. Anyway, I have not read the original novel this is based on, so I don't know if the flaws already lie in the original material or if the greatest problem is the adaptation. Still I felt this film never draws you in or gets you to the edge of your seat or has you wonder what happens next to the protagonists. You will never be on the edge of your seat watching this one. Maybe here and there you will like a scene a bit more than usual and it keeps the blance with the weaker moments. But all in all, it is a product of genuine mediocrity and my suggestion is to skip this one unless you really like the actors and watch something else instead. I give "Summer Party" (the literal translation of the title that feels like it has no connection to the movie, don't know if they will use it as the international title too) a thumbs-down as there is really nothing memorable to see here from any perspective in terms of all the production values.