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Reality TV takes over the world!!!

Diane Moore | 03/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"--And this movie proves it, it's all over the world!
Kristoffer makes his living putting up billboards with his friend, Geir and spends the rest of his time hanging out with his girlfriend, Elisabeth. He also films his friends doing silly or crazy things. When Elisabeth feels brave enough to give Kristoffer her spare keys, he fearfully breaks up with her saying that things are going too fast. No matter, she has found another---quick.

So, K hangs out with Geir and his new landlord Stig Inge, who has a very real phobia of not wanting to leave the city. He gets an anxiety attack every time he enters the Metro station and remembers that he "forgot to turn off the stove.." etc.

Henriette comes on the scene and moves in with the boys for a few weeks and soothes Kristoffers broken heart, even though she has a boyfriend that she will go on a long sailing trip with in a matter of days. Tangled webs? Especially when Elisabeth comes back!

Even though the premise of the film is that Kristoffers tapes wind up on TV and he becomes a celebrity, you may notice that the review doesn't talk much about that. Probably because we don't see much of it. There is some, but the main plot of this movie has to do with his love life/what happens when he exposes his friends dirty little secrets. I would have liked to see more of the "Jackass" type antics, but it was a good movie all the same."

True Love's Course

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 08/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"True love's course never did run smooth, particularly for the nutty Norwegians in this hilarious comedy. In his first directorial debut, Morten Tyldum does an excellent job keeping the pace popping. The hand-held camera angles of a reality-based television give way to the steady camera shots of three roommates who are bumbling their way through life & love. Nicolai Cleve Broch who also worked with Aksel Hennie (Geir) in his movie "Uno," is our romantic protagonist. With his full-bodied lips giving him G.Q. good looks, he's an ideal romantic lead whose quizzical smiles are not too heavy, but just deep enough to keep our interest. Broch plays Pals Kristoffer who breaks up with his girlfriend Elizabeth, played by Janne Formoe in her first film. Geir is the balding blonde roommate whose daredevil stunts like jumping from a third-story window mask some regret as the father of a child from his teenage years. Anders Baasmo Christiansen plays the heavyset Stig Inge who is a web designer whose agoraphobia keeps him near home. Kristoffer has a camera and tapes their crazy bachelor lifestyle. During an escape after a prank, some of Kristoffer's tapes fall from his bag and wind up in the hands of a local TV station that wants to base a reality-TV segment on the air. With nothing to lose, all agree and start becoming television personalities. Pals & Geir's day job consists of pasting billboards; and the irony hits as Kristoffer pastes a poster of himself for reality TV. A new roommate, Henriette, enters the picture. She is played by the sultry Pia Tjelta who has appeared in Norwegian films "Mongoland" & "An Enemy of the State (English title)." The consequences of becoming celebrities eventually weighs down on them as Stig must confront whether they're making fun of his mental quirk; and Geir accidentally has broadcast the fact that he has a son. This lighthearted romantic picture ends complete with the right set of lovers jumping into the water from a pier and a boat and swimming together in a final embrace. While not too heavy, this bubbly movie is an entertaining gem. It won the Audience Award at the 2003 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in Carlsbad, Czech Republic, which is becoming an important film festival for central and Eastern Europe. Film Movement's DVD offers a wacky short and is well done. Bravo!"