Simply Perfect

Good concept, poorly executed.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Every review I read made the inevitable comparisons to Tootsie. Yes, they are both about actors posing as a woman because they need the work. There are other similarities in the story arc, but there are many touches that I found set this apart. The fun it pokes at "Hollywood" - the megalithic American film industry, is again, not groundbreaking, but quite funny. The actors getting a little too wrapped up in their roles is also amusing considering the roles they're playing. This is light comedy done quite competently. The story arc may not be terribly unique or memorable, but for this viewer, as a series of amusing moments rather than a satisfying whole, it's not a bad watch. Sorry if this review seems tepid. It may not be a great film, but it's a good film. I don't regret the time spent watching it. If expectations are modest, you may enjoy it too.

"Rubbeldiekatz" or "Woman in Love" is a German movie from 2011, so this one is also already over 5 years old. It is directed by experienced filmmaker Detlev Buck and he also wrote the script together with Anika Decker, who is mostly known for her collaborations with Til Schweiger and recently directed her very first own movie that turned out pretty bad though. As for Buck, he also acts in this one again playing one of the major supporting characters. The male lead is Matthias Schweighöfer and the female main character is played by Alexandra Maria Lara. And with the former, the problems of this film already begin. In my opinion, he is a very one-dimensional character, who may have decent charisma and recognition value, but in terms of raw acting talent, he usually is a major disappointment in his films. The result is that it always looks as if he is playing the very same characters in terms of mannerisms. About Lara, she is certainly better than Schweighöfer, but I also would not say she is great. Certainly not as great as her looks are. If you know a bit about German cinema, you will find more familiar faces other than Buck in supporting roles, such as Max von Thun or Sunnyi Melles and who is an actress that I would call an actually talented Katja Riemann. Oh yeah and Max Giermann is in here as well and his scenes are just hilarious. He is easily the most talented cast member when it comes to comedy I'm sure.Anyway, about the story: I have read comparisons to Tootsie on several occasions, but I have not seen that one, so I cannot say if it is accurate or not. I'll just comment a bit on the action in general. Schweighöfer plays an actor who has to pose as a woman in order to be cast in a movie. Which means that he does not play a female character actually, but he plays an actress in order to play a female character. And I must say it worked surprisingly well. I would not really credit this to Schweighöfer, but to Buck who directed the most out of him for sure and also to the costume designers and makeup artists who worked on this movie. The film's strong side is that it never tries to make an important or dramatic statement on gender equality in films or casting, but that it is just about the characters and their funny interactions. Of course, there are some scenes when it is not working and when the film does not manage to walk the fine line between funny and not too absurd, but that's pretty much the case for every German comedy these days. Overall, it is working.Woth one exception and this exception is a negative deal-breaker which forced me to give the film a lower rating than I intended to. This is the ending. 10-15 minutes before the credits roll in, it all crumbles and turns into a pretentious cheesy schmaltzy romance movie again and the ending is as bad as it is in many other Schweighöfer films. I really hoped Buck could prevent it from becoming such a mess, but he didn't and maybe this is also due to Decker's impact. I don't know. What I do know, however, is that it almost destroyed the film. When Schweighöfer is back to playing a 100% male character again and especially when he delivers this oh so meaningful speech about love near the end is when the film becomes very cringeworthy. Such a shame. I hoped this could be an actual German comedy that I could recommend, which is really not too often the case, particularly with M.S. on board, but I just can't. The film takes itself much more seriously in this last quarter of an hour than it has any right to. Before that, it was pointless entertainment with some hilarious moments, but it all falls apart at the very end. I have to give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

As a big fan of Dustin Hoffman's and of "Tootsie," my first thought was, of course, that this was a rehash with the same basic plot, just in a different language. All similarities aside (and you may judge for yourself whether it's a good or a bad "remake"), I have to say one thing that puts this movie far above all other "men in drag" movies: Even while I was fully aware at all times that I was looking at a man pretending to be a woman, this is the only film that ever convinced me that nobody around him would see through the disguise. Matthias Schweighöfer seemed perfectly at ease in high heels and never looked like Curtis and Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot" or Hoffman in "Tootsie" or Williams in "Mrs. Doubtfire" -- he WAS a woman on screen, and he could have played the role of a woman from the beginning to the end AS a woman, without anybody in the audience realizing he's a man (unless you know him or read the credits). In this sense, this movie should be the benchmark for all future films of this kind.