"Neues aus dem Reihenhaus" is a German television film from 2016, so this one will have its fifth anniversary next year, which means it is neither a really new nor old film you could say, but maybe this has changed already depending on when you read my review. It runs for the usual 1.5 hours, minimally under, and this is basically a running time that the vas majority of German small screen releases have in common. This film is a sequel. i have not (yet) seen the first film from approximately two years earlier, but I probably will at some point. Still I must say the outcome here has not really sparkled my interest. This also has to do with the fact that director Selge and writer Ungureit returned for this one and they were also in charge for the first film. Still I must say that I have seen so many German television films and many of them were directed and written by people whose body of work had failure written all over them. I would not say that this is necessarily the case for the duo we have here. There are still really weak projects that they have been a part of. I don't want to be overly kind and tolerant here and if something is bad, I say it is bad. Honesty is key. But there are also some tolerable inclusions. Ungureit for example worked on a lot of projects for kids and I am generally not against these modern fairytale films at all. I also find his body of work in general better than Selge's. Both were approximately 50 when they were in charge of this film here and already pretty experienced, namely for roughly 20 years. Selge only very rarely wrote screenplays for his directorial efforts, so it is no surprise that here he did not. Now I wonder if he is related to Edgar. Probably not. Anyway, the title here means something like "News from the..." and the last word is a specific term for a house. I will not explain in detail. It does not matter too much. It is also closely linked to the first film in which the family at the center of the story moved in there with a new neighborhood and everything and with this sequel here, they are basically still inside that house and just adjusting with the overall situation yo could say. This is by the way a ZDF production and as ARD is not linked to it, you also won't find Degeto here. That is almost always a good thing, but unfortunately the outcome this time did turn out better than what you usually find with ARD Degeto productions. I will tell you why in the second paragraph.
One reason is the cast, especially Stephan Luca. He is the epitome of a handsome German actor, who sadly has not any kind of versatility and range inside him. He keeps getting cast for his looks. That is it. The film is about the entire family overall, but he is the one with the most screen time as his professional life as well as an ex-girlfriend are at the center of it all. Julia Richter is the female lead and she is basically also the female equivalent to Luca. Pretty attractive, also now that she is not really in her younger years anymore, but still. Good genes I suppose. Their daughter is played by Michelle Barthel, an aspring young actress who has been on the rise for a while and also played lead characters in other films, even theatrical releases I think. Again very good-looking (occasionally), but I cannot really be the judge yet to decide if she is talented or not. Need to see her in more and/or check out her role selection in general. Here her character has basically nothing to work with except being grumpy all the time and eventually talking to her dad and they are getting along better eventually. Maybe her role in the first film was more significant. Another moment that stays a bit in mind for her here is when she opens the door and her dad's ex-girlfriend shows up, now a business partner which gives her the right to. And Barthel's character acts like a brat, while of course her parents have sex at the same time running around naked in the corridore. This ex is played by Felicitas Woll, another very familiar face here in Germany. Normally she plays more likable characters, but here she is some sort of antagonist and constantly tries to convince Luca's character to have sex with her and cheat on his wife. And even if Luca's character never does so, they are getting through the anti-male message as always as he also does not oppose her and tell her to stop and clearly loves the appreciation and fire he still is able to create in his former partner. These German television films mostly shown in the afternoon are frequently anti-male. This one is no exception, only because it is not ARD. What else is there to say. The key story about the guy struggling with his business and as a consequence staying home while his wife is having a big career is one that never becomes something interesting. Just the usual, full of stereotypes and voice of creativity. Very uninspired movie. The side action, i.e. the plots away from the center of the movie, like the struggles for the neighborhood, one guy who is not really appreciated by the townsfolk and so on also feel fake and forced. There is almost nothing positive at all I can say about this movie. Of course, in the end, all is fixed again. For the lovers, for the people living nearby, for everybody and Barthel's character is even about to find love. So, also as always with these films, a fully forced happy ending, in which every struggle and conflict is solved out of nowhere. I applaud everybody who does not fall for nonsense like this. The best thing about the film? Well, apart from the cast's looks (and we sure should not forget that they are attractive, so Luca for example constantly gets praise for his physicality, even from old women - so cringe), the only aspect I can think of is that apparently there will never be a third film because now we have about twice as much time between this film and the now than there was between the first two film. Still, a duology in this case is at least one movie too many and I feel that once I have seen the first film, I will say it is two to many. Highly not recommended. Typical german television garbage.
One reason is the cast, especially Stephan Luca. He is the epitome of a handsome German actor, who sadly has not any kind of versatility and range inside him. He keeps getting cast for his looks. That is it. The film is about the entire family overall, but he is the one with the most screen time as his professional life as well as an ex-girlfriend are at the center of it all. Julia Richter is the female lead and she is basically also the female equivalent to Luca. Pretty attractive, also now that she is not really in her younger years anymore, but still. Good genes I suppose. Their daughter is played by Michelle Barthel, an aspring young actress who has been on the rise for a while and also played lead characters in other films, even theatrical releases I think. Again very good-looking (occasionally), but I cannot really be the judge yet to decide if she is talented or not. Need to see her in more and/or check out her role selection in general. Here her character has basically nothing to work with except being grumpy all the time and eventually talking to her dad and they are getting along better eventually. Maybe her role in the first film was more significant. Another moment that stays a bit in mind for her here is when she opens the door and her dad's ex-girlfriend shows up, now a business partner which gives her the right to. And Barthel's character acts like a brat, while of course her parents have sex at the same time running around naked in the corridore. This ex is played by Felicitas Woll, another very familiar face here in Germany. Normally she plays more likable characters, but here she is some sort of antagonist and constantly tries to convince Luca's character to have sex with her and cheat on his wife. And even if Luca's character never does so, they are getting through the anti-male message as always as he also does not oppose her and tell her to stop and clearly loves the appreciation and fire he still is able to create in his former partner. These German television films mostly shown in the afternoon are frequently anti-male. This one is no exception, only because it is not ARD. What else is there to say. The key story about the guy struggling with his business and as a consequence staying home while his wife is having a big career is one that never becomes something interesting. Just the usual, full of stereotypes and voice of creativity. Very uninspired movie. The side action, i.e. the plots away from the center of the movie, like the struggles for the neighborhood, one guy who is not really appreciated by the townsfolk and so on also feel fake and forced. There is almost nothing positive at all I can say about this movie. Of course, in the end, all is fixed again. For the lovers, for the people living nearby, for everybody and Barthel's character is even about to find love. So, also as always with these films, a fully forced happy ending, in which every struggle and conflict is solved out of nowhere. I applaud everybody who does not fall for nonsense like this. The best thing about the film? Well, apart from the cast's looks (and we sure should not forget that they are attractive, so Luca for example constantly gets praise for his physicality, even from old women - so cringe), the only aspect I can think of is that apparently there will never be a third film because now we have about twice as much time between this film and the now than there was between the first two film. Still, a duology in this case is at least one movie too many and I feel that once I have seen the first film, I will say it is two to many. Highly not recommended. Typical german television garbage.
