Who payed the critics

Sadly Over-hyped

Purely Joyful Movie!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

"Alles auf Zucker!" or "Go for Zucker!" or just "Zucker" is a German movie from 2004, so this one is already way over a decade old as well. It runs for roughly 1.5 hours and it is among the most known works by director and co-writer Dani Levy and lead actor Henry Hübchen. Buth received a great deal of awards attention here, for example at the German Film Awards. I have no idea why that is really. It may have to do with Levy's Jewish background and that he makes a movie about Jewery that has nothing to do with the years of Nazi Germany or war crimes, but is a more modern take on the subject. And maybe comedies on this subject are actually really rare, especially here in Germany. But this alone does not make it a good film. I myself cannot say I enjoyed the watch very much, let alone that this was really entertaining or deep. Hübchen is okay for the most part, but even if I like him I cannot really deny that his performances sometimes look very much alike. A German Film award may have been too much. A nomination may have been fine too. And Hannelore Elsner's nomination is definitely way too much. She was not lead and she did not give a portrayal that was memorable whatsoever. In my opinion, the film lacks clear focus on some occasions and when it doesn't, it is also merely okay from the perspective of story-telling. I wish I could at least recommend this to snooker players worldwide, but this is also not the case as this story-line was not as memorable as it could have been either. So what stays eventually? Not much. It is in my opinion not even among the better German films of 2004 and it's outrageous this film dominated back then over "Sophie Scholl" and "Downfall". I have no idea how anybody could think this one is better than these two Oscar nominated films really. Absolutely no idea. "Alles auf Zucker!" is not a really bad film by any means, but it never gets beyond mediocre quality, even if you ignore all the unrealistic moments it has. I personally would call it something you'd get if a Coen Bros movie goes very wrong, which luckily never happened really, a very poor man's version of "A Serious Man" almost. Don't watch.

As I stated in my summary, I can't understand how negative some of the reviews are for this film. While I strongly agree that it is not side-splitting funny, it works very well as a light comedy--a comedy that has some important things to say about family.The central character in this film is a guy named Jackie Zucker. He is an ex-sports announcer from East Germany and now that the Wall has fallen and he's no longer famous, he's a bit of a weasel. Much of his time is spent gambling, making promises to be a better person and then ignoring his family. He's also very deeply in debt and is about to lose everything. His only chance, he thinks, is to win a huge pool tournament--giving him money to pay off everyone and get his life back on track. But since he's alienated his wife and grown children, it won't be easy to convince them to stake him in the tournament.Then, quite inconveniently, just before the competition begins, his mother dies. She was apparently a religious Jew as was her other son, while Jackie was a communist party man and atheist (or at best, an agnostic). In her will, she promises to split her inheritance between her two sons IF they give her a proper Jewish funeral AND bury the hatchet. Considering that the two men haven't spoken in forty years and are as different from each other as possible, this is no small order. Plus, a proper Jewish funeral includes sitting 'shiva'---a one week mourning process that coincides with the pool tournament--a week when you are not allowed to do anything!! How Jackie conspires to cheat--by seeming to observe shiva and sneak away to the pool tournament is rather funny. However, the movie, while funny, is far less a comedy and far more a film about alienation and reconciliation. Seeing these two proud but exceptionally flawed men and their families work through all this actually is rather charming and interesting. A very good film--just don't get your heart set on it being a laugh out loud comedy.PS--A note to parents. There is adult content in the film and it's probably not appropriate for younger audiences--though for most teens it's probably okay if you watch it with them.

This movie starts with the main character lying in a coma in a hospital ward, attended by two orderlies. The unconscious main character is heard in a voice over, saying that the orderlies are gay. The orderlies kiss. I watched this in a DVD version and I have the suspicion that this is supposed to be funny – it said „comedy" on the DVD case, after all and it goes on like that. Had I seen this in a movie theater I probably would have heard part of the audience roar with laughter, because it is so funny – and because they are supposed to sit in a comedy. While it is fascinating to think about what it is funny and what isn't, this movie unfortunately only delivers arguments about what isn't.Brilliant brains can MAKE anything funny, people like Ernst Lubitsch, Billy Wilder or Mel Brooks have proved that fact. But you have to know the „mechanics", I suppose. Director and co-scriptwriter Dani Levy does not bother about those mechanics, he thinks that certain things simply ARE funny, the fact that two orderlies are gay and kiss over a man in a coma, for example. Do not get me wrong, some people can MAKE that funny, Dani Levy can't, not for me, anyway.The main problem I have with this movie is that I can't see a reason behind the way the main characters behave. I could not understand why the two brothers, one an orthodox Jew from West Germany one a third class carbon copy of Fast Eddie Felson from former East Germany so strongly disliked each other. They are both rather bland characters. Their children are boring apart from the fact that they are sexually attracted to each other (well, one is a lesbian now but raises the daughter she has with her cousin). But even these incestuous relationships – if anything they are embarrassing - just come through as an excuse because the scriptwriters could not come up with anything better.The acting is not bad, Udo Semel I actually came to like quite a lot although he reminded me more of ex chancellor Helmut Kohl (a lighter version) than of a venerable Orthodox Jew. The direction in itself is not really bad either, but maybe Levy should stick to directing movies, leaving the scriptwriting to someone else. Now I heard he did a comedy about Hitler. Oi, Vai!

I usually find German comedies about as amusing as bad diarrhea. I love German cinema but films like "Der Schuh des Manitus" and the entire "Otto" series have traumatised me to the point where I now just stick with German dramas and thrillers. Therefore, it was a big surprise to find that Alles Auf Zucker is not only an extremely well made and acted film, but also very funny.The set up in Alles Auf Zucker has been done many times before, bringing two mismatched parties together in order to reach a common goal. In this case, brothers Jaeckie and Samuel are forced to end their long running feud and strictly follow Jewish customs for 7 days after the funeral of their mother in order to accept her inheritance. The twist being that while Samuel's family live as orthodox Jews, Jaeckie has entirely forgotten his religion. Many of the laughs stem from Jaeckie's wife's last minute crash-course in Jewish culture and Jaeckie's general disinterest.The film owes a lot of its charm to Henry Huebchen, who plays Jaeckie, and Hannelore Elsner, who plays his wife. Alles Auf Zucker is really built around Huebchen's performance and he is effortlessly convincing as an endearing loser. Elsner, in my opinion the best actress working in Germany at the moment, brings her usual skill and world weary charm to what is really little more than a supporting role. Udo Samel also deserves praise for his turn as Samuel, fleshing out a character that could have been little more than a stereotype in the hands of a lesser actor.In addition to some fine performances, Alles Auf Zucker is also blessed with a witty script and stylish direction by Dani Levy. These qualities more than make-up for some lazy plotting, such as Samuel's Ecstasy experience, and the unnecessary touches of whimsy that have Jaeckie speak directly to the audience. I think the film could have also done without the creepy inter-cousin romance. Nevertheless, these are minor faults with what is a very funny and charming film.