The men in The Men are stuffy ad exec Heiner Lauterbach and nonconformist artist Uwe Oschsenknecht. Both are amorously involved with lovely Ulrike Kleiner: Lauterbach is her husband, Oschsenknecht her new lover. Deducing that Ulrike is attracted to Oschsenknecht's Bohemian lifestyle, Lauterbach plots to transform the artist into a rock-ribbed conservative. A dash of gratuitous slapstick hurts the farcical proceedings not one whit. Originally titled Manner, The Men was made on a shoestring for German television, then released as a theatrical feature, making a tidy sum in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The German film Men... has several elements common to the screwball comedy: a romantic triangle, an odd-couple type pairing of two guys sharing an apartment by circumstance rather than choice, and a scenario whereby two apparent opposites come to resemble each other more and more. It might not be innovative, and it's a bit hammy in the protagonist's quick manipulation of his doppelganger's weaknesses to put his world right again. But, within those boundaries, it's very snappy, sharply paced, and fairly amusing, though falling short of being truly uproarious. The two male leads both excel in bringing some dimension to a couple of stereotypes (Heiner Lauterbach as the workaholic ad executive, Uwe Ochsenknecht as the free-spirited drifter); Lauterbach brings far more imagination and zeal to the task of winning his wife back than he brings to his dreary job, and Ochsenknecht is obviously not as bright a know-it-all as he thinks he is. There's a bit of a mean-spiritedness to the horseplay between the two characters -- as well as a certain cluelessness to Ochsenknecht's failure to catch on to his roommate's machinations -- that keeps this from being realistic. That's not what everyone demands from a farce, however, and Men... delivers enough well-timed yuks and twisting ironies to keep the humor afloat. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Movie Guide
Cast
Heiner Lauterbach - Julius Armbrust
Uwe Ochsenknecht - Stefan Lachner
Ulrike Kriener - Paula Armbrust
Janna Marangosoff - Angelika
Marie-Charlotte Schüler - Marita Strass
Dietmar Bar - Lothar; Edith Volkmann - Frau Lennert; Monika Schwarz; Lois Helz
