Guys and Balls

Let's face the facts - there is one dominant and popular area in Western society where homosexuality is still an absolute no-no, where it simply doesn't exist (officially of course) : And this is....? Yes, it's football. Excitement and fun for billions of people all around the globe. But although roughly 5% of mankind can be considered as gay or at least bisexual no professional player ever had his public coming-out. (But statistically speaking in every team there must be at least one..which would mean a minimum of 18-20 in the German Bundesliga alone)... This is the sociological background any critic should take into account before criticizing "Männer wie wir" too harsh. Yes, I agree, in some parts this film is a bit stereotypical, but the important and optimistic message counts more than its occasional lack of sophisticated and complex characterization. Maybe this is also one of the reasons why many heterosexuals (even the liberal and educated type) feel uneasy about this film. They simply don't want gays to enter one their last retreats of pure and sweaty straight manhood. And the notion that some of these queers might even turn out to be adequate opponents on the pitch (as it happened in "Männer wie wir") is just ...like finally loosing in a penalty shoot-out after a comfortable lead.

This moves pretty well through the various expected clichés: losing one's group identity while forging a new one, showing the group who kicked you out you're better than them, guys who cheat eventually lose, love conquers all.

Funny, too. All the usual stereotypes are presented, with the over-the-top characters being balanced by the more authentic core characters. Nice symbolic use of gold-toned lighting to highlight original innocence, once lost now returned.

The score is fun and well-paced. The ending is more Indie than expected and thus more satisfying.

I found the movie very entertaining, sometimes it was pushing the stereotypes, but it was never ever insulting. Actually it was a gay friend that recommended me to watch the movie. As a matter of fact, the movie portrayed gay men as very diverse showing different personalities with different attributes. It is a great comedy, not comparable to ridiculously and sometimes even offending movies like "Traumschiff Enterprise". Maenner wie wir paints a very positive picture of gay men and does hold a very supporting view in a comedian fashion. In fact, every major character shows understanding and respect for gay men by the end of the movie. I have to add that I thought the acting of Eckis parents (Saskia Vester and Dietmar Baer) was just great.

I just recently watched "Guys and Balls" and thought it superb. It far exceeded my expectations. What a pleasant surprise since so many gay themed movies flop on arrival.

It's basically about a young man named Ecki, played brilliantly by (Maximilian Bruckner) who gets busted kissing another guy and is outed to his friends and family. He is then subsequently booted from his local soccer team. Angry, he them challenges them to a soccer match made up by his soon to be all-gay football squad. He leaves home and goes to live with his sister while assembling a rag tag group of gay men who are appalling at playing the game and comprise of every gay cliché on the market. Still, these stereotypes are not offensive, mainly because all the players come across as such nice guys. Ecki, also falls for Sven, an attractive male nurse at the hospital where his sister works. Both these guys are cast perfectly, making for a sweet and believable couple.

If you want to settle back and watch a pleasant, funny, romantic movie with a heartwarming ending, then "Guys and Balls" is the movie for you. I watched it, loved it and now I own it.

Director Sherry Horman and writer Benedikt Gollhardt have not introduced any new ideas in 'Männer wie wir' ('Guys and Balls') - team sports dependent on camaraderie, outsiders getting the last laugh, coming out stories with sports as a background, homophobia to the max, and stereotypical depictions of gay men - but they have created a movie that has enough charm to get past all of the above. It is that kind of movie that makes you groan 'Oh no, not again', but then ends up making you feel warm and sentimental despite yourself! Ecki (a very charismatic and hunky Maximilian Brückner) has grown up in a rural town, the son of a baker, and a committed soccer fan since childhood. Now as a young man he is sought after by his girlfriend Cordula (Melody Sitta) but is unable to respond to her advances. As the popular goalie on his soccer team he is hailed until quite by accident he is discovered in warm embrace with a teammate: the teammate and the team trash him for being gay, his father (Dietmar Bär) throws him out of the house, and poor Ecki departs for Dortmund to live with his sister, swearing to his team that he will return with a gay soccer team to defeat the homophobic jerks.

Ecki and his sister Susanne (Lisa Potthoff) pair off to find gay team players and find them they do, in the strangest places (this is where the film sags due to the stereotypes the director elected to cast). Ecki creates a solid team, falls in love with his sister's co-worker nurse Sven (David Rott) and despite some minor setbacks, the team boards the bus to return to Ecki's hometown to face off the enemy home team. Yes, it ends as you would imagine, but along the way the writer and director manage to make a few healthy comments about being true to yourself and your convictions.

Despite everything predictable about the film, the actors - Brückner, Roth, Potthoff, Bär, Carlo Ljubek, Saskia Vester et al - bring a homespun credibility to the story. This is one of those films that requires forgiving its shortcomings to just enjoy the ride.