Customer Reviews

Maybe... Maybe Not

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every once in a while, I run a little at-home German film festival for my own amusement and edification. Sometimes the selections are oddly complimentary. After viewing the somewhat somber ROSA LUXEMBURG, I needed a little uplift, and this charming comedy was just what the Arzt bestellte, uh, the doctor ordered. Who says Germans are sullen and humorless? I laughed out loud at this one more frequently than I do with most American comedies. (Or is that not saying very much?)

This fish-out-of-water comedy revolves around a likeable, but randy heterosexual turned out by his girlfriend after she discovers him and a pick-up in flagrante delectable. Former girlfriends aren't exactly eager to take him in, which is kind of telling, and eventually he ends up taking refuge with a gay man he meets by happenstance.

No surprise, they bond in significant ways despite the differences in their sexual orientation. Or is there such a difference? Well, yeah, the MAYBE...MAYBE NOT question is pretty much a rhetorical one here, but it's still fun to see this naive straight guy bumble through Cologne gay scene and emerge a little better and wiser for the experience. (He learns to cook at least).

The young German cast is very good. The only actor I'm familiar with was Katja Riemann as the beleaguered girlfriend. Riemann, who can also be seen in THE HARMONISTS and BANDITS, shines here. The male leads Til Schweiger (straight Axel) and Joachim Krol (gay Norbert) are perfectly cast, giving more depth to their characters than one might expect. And Rufus Beck as the more outrageous--and, admittedly, more stereotypical--gay friend "Waltraud" is a hoot. All in all proof that German humor is NOT an oxymoron!

If you want a wild, funny, ballsy movie then check out this hysterical film. The lead character is a good-looking guy (Axel) who can't keep it in his pants. His girlfriend catches him and he moves out of their apartment. The only place that is immediately available is with a gay guy who is really nice, but drools over Axel. Then there is a comedy of errors when the girlfriend thinks that Axel and the gay guy are lovers. There is some wild and crazy stuff in this movie, and well worth checking out.

This film was an absolutely huge hit in Germany back in 1994-1995. It's hilarious... A young man who's having problems with his girlfriend befriends a gay man, and everyone involved begins to think he might be gay himself. Very, very funny. And there's plenty of useful slang for students of German! END

I've had occasion to see a number of good German films in the past year, and this is one of the best. It's the story of a straight photographer (Til Schweiger) who is initiated into the Cologne gay scene after he is tossed out of his apartment by his girlfriend, who discovers him cheating on her at the restaurant where they both work. Our hero ends up sharing a flat with a gay man, who then plots to seduce him. There are a lot of hokey plot contrivances to keep this one afloat, but they only serve to underscore the charm of the film's remarkably adept cast--with empashis here on Herr Schweiger. The film is punctuated throughout by camp musical interludes courtesy of Max Raabe and the incredible Palast Orchester, whom some of you may know from their "Charming Weill" album. "Kein Schwein ruft mich an" is just one gem among many. See it, if only for the music.

I can't begin to fathom how the previous reviewer found this movie "dark and tense" - hello? It's a hoot! I cried laughing watching this film!

Also, she found it nice that the movie didn't pursue clichés about gays - well it's not a film about gays, now is it? Not exactly - I know and love the comics it's adapted from, and yes, their author is gay, but that's not quite what this is about. The main character is het Axel, and another review put it well by definig what's happening as "fish out of the water" story.

Gee, watch the phone scene beteween Axel and Waltraud, the movie theater one - among others... - and see for yourself whether this is a comedy or a "tense and dark" movie... Sheesh!

By the way, Dear Mr. Movie Magnate: get this film on DVD now - with English or French subtitles, because the original language needs to be kept (if not understood...) There's only one DVD edition available, but it's in German with no other-language subtitles... otherwise I'd get it now! Please, please, pretty pretty please?

Great film but much is lost in translation....if you
know German. I had to reorder film from another seller
to get subtitled German version.

A philandering boyfriend is thrown out on the street after being caught with another woman (and not the first time at that). He ends up living with a gay acquaintance, and an amusing change befalls him as he suddenly finds himself the object of desire for numerous gay men. After discovering she is pregnant with his child, the ex-girlfriend starts searching for him. She eventually finds him, but in a compromising situation with another man! Now he must prove his heterosexuality to a doubtful girlfriend! The movie thens follows the couple's ups and downs as they attempt to start anew with an impending baby, but with some uexpected moments of humor. It is a good movie to spend a rainy afternoon with, and a lighthearted look at one straight man's attempt at reconciling his situation with gay friends. I recommend this movie.

My sister in law brought the movie from Germany. A Germany comedy that is well written that covers every aspect of relationships. I have the german version. When the price comes down my canadian friends can enjoy a great movie. Europe is underrated at the movie business. Life is beautiful and Maybe Maybe not are in the same class.

`Maybe, Maybe Not' is one of the most odd movies I've ever seen. I liked it. I think I liked it because it is so completely different than all the American movies I'm used to seeing. In the beginning, the main character, Axel, decides to randomly have sex with some girl in the bathroom of his workplace. A woman in the next stall recognizes the key chain that dropped from one of the fornicating couple's clothes. She peeks over the stall to find her boyfriend of three years mindlessly humping another woman. She kicks him out of their apartment and throughout the rest of the movie he struggles with where to live. Initially he calls old girlfriends who all readily turn him away. Then he ends up at a `men's group' with a lot of gay guys. After that, he gets drunk at a party and goes home to sleep at one of their houses. This is when the gender preference battle begins. A lot of stereotypes were defied in this movie and I found that extremely refreshing. For example, it is commonly thought in American society that gay men are promiscuous, however in this movie, no homosexual sex is shown. There is one man-to-man kiss in the club and in another scene homosexual activity is inferred while watching slides but not directly shown on the screen. There are, however, two comparatively graphic heterosexual scenes. Another stereotype defied was the `effeminate gay men' stereotype. The main gay character, Norbert, didn't act effeminate at all, not even in drag. My favorite part of the movie however perpetuated and made fun of an existing stereotype - the stupid Stallone-loving straight guy. The guys in the movie theater were very intriguing. I thought they added welcome comic relief to an otherwise tense and dark movie.

This is a very funny comedy you are sure to laugh a lot!!!