Touches You

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Awesome Movie

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

"Echte Kerle" or "Regular Guys" is a 95-minute live action movie from 1996, so this one has its 20th anniversary this year. It is a German-language film, even if it says "Ruassian language" here on IMDb. The director and one of the two writers is Rolf Silber and it is certainly his most known work. This can also be said about pretty much the entire cast here, including supporting actor Tim Bergmann, who (for whatever reason) managed a German Film Award nomination for his work here. But he was really generic and stereotypical and certainly a bad choice to recognize this way. No surprise he has not received other nominations in his career. If anybody from the cast was somewhat above-average here, then it was lead actor Christoph M. Ohrt. But even he shines only because the rest of the cast is really weak and the material from the writers is also not good, so not too difficult to elevated it.Almost the only reason why this film is still somewhat known today is because it is a gay-themed movie. These usually are seen a lot in terms of quantity and the awards recognition the film got boosted this even more. Admittedly, I have seen many gay-themed films that are way inferior to this one, especially short film, but this should not mean that this was a good watch here. The 7.x rating it has here on IMDb is way too high. The story is absurd and unrealistic for the part, the performances are neither bold nor memorable and the writing overall feels generally very much uninspired. It was virtually impossible to care for any of the characters because what they did made rarely sense at all in terms of authenticity. The hammy approach or approach void of talent (in terms of Bergmann's case) makes it even pretty cringeworthy at times. But hey, it shows that you can be void of talent and still be nominated at the German Film Awards. Should give hope to all the struggling German actors out there. This "comedy" (the " because it's never really funny) film is all about relationship struggles, but I must say I never felt for the characters or cared for who gets together with whom. And the final plot twist is not helping things either, let alone the ridiculous idea that Ohrt's character possibly discovers his homosexuality from one day to the next. It is just never forking for a whole bunch of reasons and the script is all showy and hammy and offers almost zero substance. If you consider watching this film, then maybe you have seen already Sönke Wortmann's "Der bewegte Mann" from two years earlier and this one here feels like a cheap copy that went pretty wrong. I highly not recommend the watch and 4 out of 10 is still pretty generous.

At last a film showing gay people as normal, healthy, good people. The policeman's frustration and skepticism is beautifully portrayed, so his loyalty to his new-won friend/pal in the end, which inspires a hidden homosexual colleague to step forward in the open. His anxiety of the possibility to having had sex with a man is taken seriously and the trust he experiences from the gay man is beautifully returned, especially in the bathing scene. A handsome actor giving life beautifully to the character of Edgar, the openly gay man, as a good guy. The story is not a happy-ending and in another way it is. The film showing Edgar as not taking advantage of the situation, being kind and respectful to his new friend. Unusually showing the gay man as a normal masculine guy with masculine interests without being outrageous in any way. Just normal! A heart warming film which should be recommended for viewing in schools.

I have already seen a plenty of comedies about police men, macho men being dumped by girlfriend and then becoming sensible, men questionning their sexuality or a movie covering all those categories. But I have never seen such a pleasant comedy offering very clever funny situations and jokes as well as moving moments. There is one scene in this movie which, during the shot, made the crew on the set cry. I won't tell which scene it is, maybe you'll discover it by yourself, only so much: It's a dialogue which marks the end of something. I don't know how well the translation of the movie into English is, but everybody who understands German and gets the opportunity to see it in German - do it. It's very entertaining and definitely worth watching it!

I think that "Echte Kerle" is an excelent movie. It really impressed me. It also remind me that there are still true feelings in our global society. I especially admire Tim Bergmann (Edgar), he`s a great actor. I know one thing - after seeing this film my life will never be the same.