With its stock characters and low-expectation high jinks, the German import What a Man could have been fabricated on the Hollywood rom-com assembly line.
What a Man
Germany, United States · 2011
Rated R · 1h 35m
Director Matthias Schweighöfer
Starring Matthias Schweighöfer, Sibel Kekilli, Elyas M'Barek, Thomas Kretschmann
Genre Comedy, Romance
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What a man is a comedy that tells the story of a young professor, Alex (Matthias Schweighofer), which after being left by his girlfriend Caroline (Mavie Hörbiger), begins a journey to know himself. But how do you overcome the difficulties of a man today? Or rather what is it that makes a man a man?
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
New York Post by Farran Smith Nehme
The plot is predictable, as complications line up like jets awaiting takeoff. Even the camera work is predictable: The attractive-girl's-scary-boyfriend-suddenly-pops-up shot; the morning-after, face-in-the-pillow shot.
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
While the idea of a German romantic comedy may seem like an oxymoron, What a Man proves an amiable diversion that at least has the distinction of not starring Katherine Heigl or Kate Hudson.
The leads jell well but the film overcompensates to justify their union, surrounding them with broadly drawn secondary characters presented in an uncertain, inconsistent comic tone.
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