Someone once observed that film critics in general are vulnerable to rather praise a mediocre drama instead of a good comedy. I can only agree. A look in my favorite film magazine RAY gives a good example of both. A large part of the issue focuses on the film "Green Book", a film which has been criticised for it's stereotypical portrays and old-fashioned story, in short, a film that "would have been great in the late 50ies" (quote: Alexander Horvath) but now completely obsolete. And in the same issue a short und very unfriendly critique of "Love Machine".
Films who deal with sex get to be scrutinized a lot and comedies especially. And there is a reason for it, most bad comedies use sex in a very vulgar way to get some laughs. A comedy called "Love Machine" seems to be inviting a thumbs down without watching it. And yes, if I had not seen Thomas Stipsits in smaller roles before, I'm not sure I would have watched it. And now I'm very glad I did!
It is a rare example of a light comedy that has sex as its main theme and which is not stupid or vulgar. The title figure is a funny little musician who is forced into a new and very different profession as a male escort which he masters with the help of his sister who sees a great chance to make a lot of money. His touching, hilarious and sometimes weird encounters with the women who seek his help while he secretly falls in love with another are what makes the core of the story. The story is misleading to expect a lot of nudity but there is surprisingly little bare skin and almost no private parts to look at. The cast is full of familiar faces and all are very well chosen. I watched the film with my wife and we both found him perfectly funny!
