Alex und der Löwe

What a turkey. Marcel Schlutt is nice to look at but I'm more excited looking at his tumblr.

Oh my dear god. This movie is so bad it almost wanted me to destroy my computer. No chemistry whatsoever between any of the actors. Bad music and really fake dialogue all around. I watched it because I have seen Marcel Schlutt in other movies and he was so much better than in this One. I don't know what went downhill here. Everything, I guess. I didn't care for the characters, I didn't care for the story and for the really bad camera work. Don't get me wrong, I love berlin but they show none of it in the movie. The jokes were non-existent and and the actors should go to acting school before doing a movie again. I was hoping for a decent comedy but this is not what I got. Keep away from this one.

An excellent piece of European gay cinema! 100 well-spent minutes! "Alex and Leo" proves that a great movie doesn't necessarily need a big budget if the chemistry between the actors is right. And the acting in "Alex and Leo" is wonderful! Hard to say whether German porn icon Marcel Schlutt is a good actor or not, but he's cast perfectly as Leo in this droll romantic comedy that features Spanish actor André Schneider (from "La paz de tus ojos tristes") as his love interest. (Schneider has become a little chubby, but let me tell you, he has the movie world's most beautiful eyes since young Paul Newman!) They fall in love immediately but have some mild trouble in the process of becoming a couple. Of course, "Alex and Leo" has a happy ending. We know it as soon as Schlutt and Schneider meet in a hip Kreutzberg bar, and the movie doesn't ruin our expectations. (A little more nudity from Schlutt and Schneider during their sex scene would have been appreciated, though.) There are some mind-blowing performances from the supporting cast as well (Udo Lutz as Toby the Super-bitch is comedy at its best!), and the music is great, too. A movie that makes me wanna go and see Europe. They seem to have the hottest men on earth.

For me, "Alex and Leo" was one of the few bright spots of this year's QFest, but even this one had its bad moments and many, many flaws. The unconvincing camera work and the poor sound quality almost ruined it for me, but then again we have to be aware that there was absolutely no budget involved.

The story: Alex (Andre Schneider) walks in on his boyfriend doing someone else and ends the relationship which makes his friends Tobi (Udo Lutz), Kerstin (Beate Kurecki) and Steffi Graf (Sasca Hai) quite happy, and the reasonable Steffi tries to comfort Alex. German porn icon Marcel Schlutt stars as Leo, who falls madly in love with Alex and leaves his bossy girlfriend for him. (Schlutt is decidedly handsome but also pretty deadpan and totally lacks the ability to act.) Alex is very reluctant at first but can't resist Leo very long. And somewhere in Berlin, love's also waiting for Tobi and Steffi.

Fine performances by Lutz, Hai, Schneider and Hans Hendrik Trost (who plays Schneider's cheating boyfriend) and a nicely penned script save this ship from drowning, the editing is good, and the music (mostly French and German songs) makes "Alex and Leo" so enjoyable that I left the theater with a big smile. Normally, I'd give "Alex and Leo" five out of ten, but compared to all the other shitty films at 2010's QFest, this was a true gem, so I added two more stars.

Tobi's character is embarrassing and insulting to gay men everywhere. That actor plays insulting gay characters, bitchy, childish, immature, flamboutient.