A Major Disappointment

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

"What a Man" is the first movie that famous German actor Matthias Schweighöfer wrote and directed himself. Of course he also plays the central character, a man stuck between two women and constantly trying to master the fine line between masculinity and his not very masculine authentic self. He gets commanded around by everybody somehow and is just not an alpha male. This is also the reason why his girlfriend leaves him and starts seeing the stallion guy who lives in the same house. Schweighöfer's character she refers to as a chaotic, clumsy pony instead. The film's title song is from German Eurovision Song Contest winner Lena Mayer-Landrut giving us her version of the famous "What a Man".The ex-girlfriend is played by Mavie Hörbiger, the best friend, who turns into a love interest, is played by Sibel Kekilli, who you may have seen on "Game of Thrones" these days. Elyas M'Barek is also in the film, but is fairly forgettable and plays the same character he always does. Milan Peschel, probably the most talented cast member alongside Kekilli, is also in this movie, but that is pretty much a given as he and Schweighöfer have been in so many films together. Initially, it seemed Kekilli's character will maybe not be a love interest when she has that hunky French guy at her place, but when we find out they split and he has another, it is really obvious. And of course, Hörbiger's character also wants Schweighöfer's back as great masculinity is apparently not the best feature for a relationship.I really like Kekilli, but even i have to say the dramatic scenes between her and Schweighöfer just did not really wow me. She has done better in "Die Fremde", a truly brilliant performance. The comedy in "What a Man", occasionally succeeds, but not all the time. This film has definitely some weaknesses. First of all, Schweighöfer never really impressed me that much as an actor and the whole love confession scene with the pandas (small cameo Nora Tschirner, later Frederike Kempter and Katharina Schüttler with cameos too) was pretty cringeworthy I have to say. The script certainly gets worse as the film keeps going. The childhood flashback added nothing for me, where people wondered if he was a girl or boy, just like the story with the kid who reminded him of his childhood. The final approach to overcoming one's fear of flying in order to prove he is a real man felt fairly insignificant to me. It all seemed so important suddenly and there was only one small reference right at the beginning of the film to that, so I would have preferred a different ending.However, if you are in for a light comedy to watch with your girlfriend/boyfriend, this can actually be a decent choice. There's several parts where you will laugh for sure. So, also taking into account that Schweighöfer has not worked as a writer/director before that, I'd say: Recommended.

What A Man (WAM) tasted like it was a reply to Rabbits Without Ears (RWE) from 2007. Not only does WAM also feature actor Matthias Schweighöfer (here as the main protagonist) but it also deals with the presumed women's addiction to macho jerks. Except that WAM deconstructs the stereotype, rather than celebrating it (as in RWE), stressing that a man's authenticity is key. There's a funny scene when Alex talks to his male friend about the macho's assumed natural order of women liking men who tell them what to do - while a rowing boat passes by with a female coxswain commanding the male rowers, immediately calling Alex's conversation into question.The film is creative, fun to watch and tackles the gender theme very well, sending Alex through various situations aimed at finding himself. The writing and cast was spot on and allowed me to feel the chemistry between Alex and Nele. WAM is a very good German film that made me laugh and emotionally engaged in the relationships. That said, as a romantic comedy it's not In the sea of negative stereotyping, it's good to know that some writers don't take the easy way out and know the art of letting you leave the movie theater with a good feeling.