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Echte Kerle

Echte Kerle

List Price: $24.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Regular Guys but a Great Movie!
Review: Christoph is a cop, who's girlfriend is fed up with him and replaces him with a steroid induced hulk---forcing him out of their apartment. After a night of drinking, Christoph ends up in the bed of a young man named Tim, uncertain of what happened during the night. With no place to go, Christoph is forced to stay with Tim, a young gay man who does body work on cars. Added to the mix, are two partners of Christoph, one a good friend and the other a woman, who becomes a possible love interest for Christoph. Their are several things going on at once---Tim working on stolen cars, a stake out, and the blossoming romance of Christoph and his female partner. The story also looks at homophobia from the eyes of a man who was once "king of the gay jokes" as his buddy puts it, and gives us the chance to see him grow once he is put in the situation of seeing what homophobia can be like for a gay man. The story is well written and the actors give good performances. I wasn't sure that I would like this movie but I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Regular Guys but a Great Movie!
Review: Christoph is a cop, who's girlfriend is fed up with him and replaces him with a steroid induced hulk---forcing him out of their apartment. After a night of drinking, Christoph ends up in the bed of a young man named Tim, uncertain of what happened during the night. With no place to go, Christoph is forced to stay with Tim, a young gay man who does body work on cars. Added to the mix, are two partners of Christoph, one a good friend and the other a woman, who becomes a possible love interest for Christoph. Their are several things going on at once---Tim working on stolen cars, a stake out, and the blossoming romance of Christoph and his female partner. The story also looks at homophobia from the eyes of a man who was once "king of the gay jokes" as his buddy puts it, and gives us the chance to see him grow once he is put in the situation of seeing what homophobia can be like for a gay man. The story is well written and the actors give good performances. I wasn't sure that I would like this movie but I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: aka "REGULAR GUYS", Witty romantic comedy
Review: Christoph is having a bad day. The macho but somewhat self-involved police detective gets thrown out of his fiance's apartment, loses his possessions, and passes out drunk at a bar. The next morning isn't working out much better, as he wakes up hungover ... and in the bed and arms of a gay man, Tim, who refuses to tell him if anything "happened" other than sleep. A shortage of apartments and hotel rooms forces Christoph to accept Tim's offer to let him stay until he finds a place of his own. They come to an understanding: Christoph makes it clear that he is straight. Tim makes it clear that he is in love with Christoph.

This is the basic premise of the 1996 German film "Echte Kerle (Regular Guys)", a witty romantic comedy featuring some very funny scenes and good acting. Adding to the mix are Christoph's police partners, one male and one female (the latter interested in Christoph), as well as some light details of a case the three of them are working on. It also becomes known that Tim may be involved in fixing up and selling stolen vehicles, which puts Christoph (and his partners, who meet and like Tim) in a difficult position. When undercover cops staking out Tim's garage see him with Christoph, the rumor spreads that Christoph is gay, and he hillariously decides not to fight the rumor.

In German with English subtitles, but I had no problems whatsoever following the story via the latter (Even though I don't understand more than a couple of words of German, I suspect the translators may have taken some literary license in doing so, as sometimes several lines in German are translated as a one or two syllable English word. But the story flows very well, and the laughs seem to come at the appropriate parts in either language). I'll give it 3 stars out of 5, and recommend it for those who like comedies.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: aka "REGULAR GUYS", Witty romantic comedy
Review: Christoph is having a bad day. The macho but somewhat self-involved police detective gets thrown out of his fiance's apartment, loses his possessions, and passes out drunk at a bar. The next morning isn't working out much better, as he wakes up hungover ... and in the bed and arms of a gay man, Tim, who refuses to tell him if anything "happened" other than sleep. A shortage of apartments and hotel rooms forces Christoph to accept Tim's offer to let him stay until he finds a place of his own. They come to an understanding: Christoph makes it clear that he is straight. Tim makes it clear that he is in love with Christoph.

This is the basic premise of the 1996 German film "Echte Kerle (Regular Guys)", a witty romantic comedy featuring some very funny scenes and good acting. Adding to the mix are Christoph's police partners, one male and one female (the latter interested in Christoph), as well as some light details of a case the three of them are working on. It also becomes known that Tim may be involved in fixing up and selling stolen vehicles, which puts Christoph (and his partners, who meet and like Tim) in a difficult position. When undercover cops staking out Tim's garage see him with Christoph, the rumor spreads that Christoph is gay, and he hillariously decides not to fight the rumor.

In German with English subtitles, but I had no problems whatsoever following the story via the latter (Even though I don't understand more than a couple of words of German, I suspect the translators may have taken some literary license in doing so, as sometimes several lines in German are translated as a one or two syllable English word. But the story flows very well, and the laughs seem to come at the appropriate parts in either language). I'll give it 3 stars out of 5, and recommend it for those who like comedies.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: German Comedy - yes, it's possible...
Review: It is very hard for Germans to do comedies - and to do them well. This film is one of the best examples. The story is easy to follow, the complications foreseeable but funny nonetheless. The ending is happy for everybody. Light entertainment - what more can you ask for. I'm from Germany and was very happy to find this movie. I will add it to my collection for German DVDs. It's good for the (German) soul and nice for my husband who tries to learn German.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's "full-frame"
Review: The first few minutes are in widescreen, but then it switches to full frame, so be prepared to view several scenes with the actors cut off on either side of the screen, with virtually little more than their noses showing. What a disappointment! Who makes these bad decisions, anyway? If I had known it was full-frame, I would not have bought it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: REGULAR GUYS BUT EXCEPTIONAL FILM
Review: The original German title is "Echte Kerle". This film is a fun well-paced gay friendly romantic farce about a "straight" police officer and his sexual identity. A great plot twist at the end puts a smile on your face. The film has some great characters (some stereotypical) and enough suspense to keep you interested to the very end. You can hear sex (neighbors above or X rated porn theater below the stake-out place) but no on screen graphic sex. It is a pleasure to see a film about everyday people. All the main characters (straight and gay) are likeable. The film is in German with English subtitles, has a few trailers but no other extras. The soundtrack includes the Commodores' Nightshift and Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing giving the film a nostalgic 80's feeling. Highly recommended. Also, good price from Amazon.com (I bought it from another site at a significantly higher price).


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