00 Schneider - Im Wendekreis der Eidechse (2013) Reviews

• Helge touches it and it turns to odd

  Horst_In_Translation2013-10-16

  Helge Schneider is as popular as ever, at least here in Germany, and he gives his double-zero agent Roy Schneider a sequel after 20 years. The film is packed with his very own perception of comedy and for the most, it's really something you'll either totally love or not see any humor in it at all to the point that you may wonder if the lead actor or his character may even be retarded. It's packed with situation comedy, but not the likes you know from Seinfeld etc. It's all much more surreal. It's a common statement that it's hard to put it into words and you just have to experience it, but it fully applies to this film. The Lizard. Aunt Tyree, my favorite besides Schneider. The little dog Zorro. The musician in the café. The gender roles with women being almost exclusively played by men in drag, or on one occasion even by a man not in drag. And 00 Schneider asks the husband if it's his brother, but he replies it's his wife. I watched Schneider's comedy program two years ago and he's truly among the best out there. Beyond his skills as an entertainer, it also needs to be noted how great of a musician he is. All in all, his approach is still pretty unique after all those years and while his style may easily look stupid if not executed accurately, he's been among the most lauded comedians for a long time. About the film again, I really can't imagine that many scenes where I genuinely laughed, except maybe the ones where he goes undercover as a prostitute and everybody else is men in women's clothing there as well, but it's really the total picture which makes it so outstanding. It's up to you to decide if in a good or bad way. If you're in the mood for a somewhat different comedy, this one is definitely worth checking out. However, I imagine that translating the dialogs accurately into subtitles without losing the humor will be an especially difficult task here.

• this one is a fail

  wittmann732013-10-21

  Of course one cannot be surprised to find out that this latest Helge Schneider flick is trash, that is what Helge does and did brilliantly in the past. I was a fan of him in the early 1990s already when Helge was pretty much a nobody to the German public. Truth is you either like Helge or you hate him, same with his films. I admit that I loved the first 00-Schneider in 1994 and also his "Texas" movie. Although both basically only consist of outtakes and bloopers, both films were actually very funny and quotable. But apparently Helge is not the same Helge anymore - or he does not want to be. "Im Wendekreis" is Helge's latest attempt, scenes once more don't make any sense, offer weird characters and no plot to speak of. But this time it is just not funny. It is a walkout. Sorry Helge, this one is a fail. Stick to CDs or try harder next time. Additional star for the slo-mo fight at the end.

• Not even close to the previous films

  metalfreak192016-01-19

  First off, I'm a huge Helge Schneider fan and I love everything he does. Well, everything except for this movie. I tried watching it three times and never made it to the end. It's like Helge is trying too hard to catch up on his older films like "00 Schneider - Jagd auf Nihil Baxter" or "Praxis Dr. Hasenbein", but it all just seems very forced - especially the jokes. Helge Schneider's work is built on improvisation and subtle humour, obvious jokes are only made now and then. But this film has too many of those obvious jokes, and that doesn't work at all with the concept. The thing about Helge Schneider is that he never really changed, but it never got boring because he always made something new within this very particular "universe" he has created over the years. And that's when "Im Wendekreis der Eidechse" comes into play. It's the same old Helge aesthetic his fans know and love, but without any fresh aspects. A huge advantage of the flick is the set decoration/film design/costume part. They bring a lot of nice vintage stuff (many of the items belong to Schneider's personal collection, as far as I know) into the film, and that improves it a lot. And of course, there are some funny scenes/moments. But this film isn't anywhere near the old classics.

• Trash

  messagesme-255-1256312013-10-31

  I tried my best to find that movie amusing. Went to the movies with my friends (which are serious fans). Even bought snacks and refreshments. Had fun with them before the movie. But had to leave in the middle, it was just a serious struggle - whether to leave a movie theater the first time in my life or get tortured till the end. I never quit a movie with friends and never left the cinema early, I am even watching the Credits. But the only good thing in that movie was a girl beat-boxing.

• If you have no bock then you should stop

  age2.12016-12-09

  As a first hour Schneider viewer for some now blurred reason, i must say, this movie simply says two things: Rocko Schamoni is only good for burning down filthy clubs and creating absurd shaming-nonsense and Helge just doesn't seem to care anymore. That's what even his facial expression tells me. Except for some very few grains of salt that just don't make a supper out of the lukewarm water, the movie is fragmented beyond repair and rather resembles a weak attempt to drop never to be heard again names than even trying to be a real movie. Yes i noticed the alleged criticism that poured out of the script - but it lacked execution. It felt like, okay the people expect jokes, throw them some. And again. And again. Not funny at all. Just plain boring. The main actor clearly is a dog, sympathy-wise. The rest is fore-mentioned heartless supper with some rancid storytelling-fat. And all the time you should have your hands free, so you could facepalm yourself in case Till Schweiger should show up. Which he luckily doesn't, but it wouldn't have surprised me, at all. The absence of Till Schweiger really is the only thing that still separates this movie from the usual German comedy garbage. And i see, nice old cars you have there, but you perhaps shouldn't blindly hand the direction to your infant kids - no matter how proud you are of them. Maybe, with Mr. Schlingensief the last bits of real class in experimental film-making died and all is now just some tasteless circus of effortlessness. One for the Money. I was searching for some final description, but i was so sick and tired of the movie, please just pick one of the translation results for me, will you please: despondent, discouraged, dejected, fainthearted, spiritless. What a pity, Helge. I am really disappointed.